R. Student & commenters miss the obvious
In the process of writing my recent "Challenge" post, I noticed Rabbi Gil Student's June 23, 2010 "Praying on the Subway." (You can also read it on his new blog here, but the original comes complete with the name of the author [Gil Student] and the correct comment count [71]).
“I often see women praying from a siddur on the subway, during the commute to work in the morning. There are many reasons why I think this is a bad practice but we also have to keep in mind that some women are juggling so many responsibilities that this is the only opportunity they have to pray. Let's just address one halakhic aspect of this issue.
The Torah says "ולא יראה בך ערות דבר - He may see no naked thing among you" (Deut. 23:15). The Gemara (Shabbos 150a) learns from the word davar that no dibur (word) of holiness can be recited in front of nakedness. That means no prayer, Shema or words of Torah can be recited in front of someone improperly dressed.
This should effectively prohibit praying on the NYC subway during the summer, when the trains are full of immodestly dressed women. . . .
There is, however, room for leniency. The Rema (Orach Chaim 75:1) follows the Rosh, who holds that this rule applies to women in front of immodestly dressed women just like it applies to men in front of women. The Rashba, though, is lenient and only prohibits women from praying in front of uncovered genitalia. Many later authorities rule according to the Rashba (e.g. Mishnah Berurah 75:8; Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 5:16).”
Seventy-one comments follow concerning the permissibility of women praying in the present of immodestly-dressed women and the question of whether reading prayers and/or Torah silently are the halachic equivalents of praying and/or studying aloud.
And not one commenter thinks to suggest that the real problem with women davvening/praying on the subway might be that women might be distracted from their prayers by men!
Let me get this straight: A (straight) woman would be distracted by another woman's exposed cleavage, but would not notice the guy in skin-tight jeans, or the guy sitting directly across the aisle with his knees spread wide open?!
The rabbis quoted by Rabbi Student were all men. They thought like men, they wrote like men, and many of their rulings regard issues that are only of relevance to men. To them (judging by what they wrote), men were quivering bundles of desire with low resistance thresholds, whereas, apparently, women were made of stone. Did they, and do these modern writers and commenters, truly think that the only thing radical enough to distract a woman is naked genitalia?!
News flash: A hat with a brim is very handy for davvening and/or studying on public transit, whether you're male or female--just pull the brim down far enough that you can't see anything worth looking at.