Modesty

A few days ago I went to the Chinese take-out place around the corner from my place. While I was waiting for my food I passed the time looking through some trashy celebrity magazine. There was a section on some event or awards or whatever with what various women had been wearing. I'm a girl after all so I like pretty dresses. I'm not going to name any names but one woman was wearing a long dress, it was strapless but all round modest and respectable, it wasn't super tight or see through or anything just kind of loose and flowing. It was really pretty and she looked lovely. But all the magazine had to say was that she wasn't showing enough flesh, that her dress should be short and she should show off her body. Yet another woman was wearing a dress that in my opinion shouldn't be considered a dress at all. It was completely see-through except for a few "strategically placed" lace sections. It was disgraceful, yet the magazine praised and commended it. Seriously?

How have we gotten to this state in our culture where women are encouraged to disregard any sense of self-respect and dignity and to treat themselves as objects and expected to dress to show off their bodies so that they can be leered at and so that their value can be judged from how 'hot' or 'sexy' they look? It really does astound me but women really do seem to fall for this. Just look in any fashion magazine or even just look out of your window.

You don't even have to add the Christian dimension of not leading others into sin to realise that there is something deeply wrong with the way women are encouraged to dress and present themselves. This is fundamentally an issue of self-respect and dignity, and the lack thereof that our culture is producing. Do you really want to be judged solely for your body? Is that really all you are worth? Of course not! It is up to women to reclaim our dignity by refusing to conform to this touted image and by treating ourselves and our bodies with the respect we deserve.