I was councilled in CA for wearing my skirts too long and looking too much like I was from New York(I was from New York). They said my suits were too sophisticated. My boots were completely inappropriate(no reason to ever wear boots in So. CA except fashion!) No hats. I was actually accused of wearing a red dress and black hose on an assembly part(I have photos proving I did not- I had on a boring ivory dress with beige hose.) I was told to dress more like a certain elder's wife-(she was buying Thrift Store polyester A-line skirts in 1984) and when I said I did not WANT to dress like her-they demanded to know why, and I said because she dresses horribly and I pitied her! The next day that sister was in tears and would not speak to me for months! So much for confidentiality.
I was also told that I would be raped if I wore blue nail polish, and that red nail polish would identify me as a hooker.
I was accused of witchcraft by playing Pat Benatar's Wuthering Heights backwards(it does kinda say 'listen to the evil slave' when you play it backwards. However it would be years before I cast any spells.)
Oh yeah I was councilled about wearing a white dress to the Memorial(my father partook and they told me I was upstaging him by dressing in 'bridal white'- it was 1979 and it was really more of a disco-ish dress as I recall).
I was told that my Book Study Conductor(who was a brother recently remarried to a much younger sister) requested to change Book Studies because HE WAS ATTRACTED TO ME. I did not even know this, but after I was told I could guess why his first wife left him....
I was wearing a flowing baby-doll type blouse and a matching peasant skirt, and the neckline was V but it was not excessively low. It showed maybe 1/2 inch of cleavage(I have big boobs-my cleavage starts under my chin-LOL). Some sister who was visiting, who I had never seen before, said to me as I was coming in the door, 'that blouse is a little revealing isnt?' And before I could catch my tongue I looked at her flat chest and replied back 'maybe that is because *I* have something to reveal!'
I was also told to sit in the middle on the inside of the aisle because the brothers handling the mikes could look down my blouse.
I have been told probably 20 times in my JW life(birth up to age 34) that I was guilty of being attractive to some married brother, and of course it was my fault. And I do not recall ever knowing that any of these brothers found me attractive until some committee brought it to my attention.
Finally the last straw was when I was councilled for being a Jezebel and causing divisions in the Hall because I was the object of gossip. Now I did not even know about this gossip, and neither did any of my friends. I was never even told what the gossip was! I was removed as a pioneer for that after 15 yrs. But it was never announced, so no one knew. And 4 months later the CO came to my house with those brothers on that committee and made them apologize and he told me I could re-apply. I said no Thank-You. Less than a yr later I was gone for good.
Ravyn
