I heard that phrase at least a million times as I was growing up. Honestly, hearing it always irked me a little bit, but I didn't know exactly why. I think this article sums it up beautifully.
I have thought probably a little too much on the modesty issue, because, like you, I have been bothered by the way we often portray it and talk about it. I have so much I could say on the issue. Perhaps we should have a good conversation about it sometime. :)
The article addressed some of what I had been thinking about for a long time, so I appreciate that others out there are campaigning to keep people from objectifying women. Personally, I think that we also do harm with our strict modesty guidelines in the church because we risk fetishizing parts of the female body that aren't even inherently sexual ("you better cover your shoulders or thighs or whatever or else people will start to have bad thoughts about you"). And the line on these things is always changing and often arbitrary. Wearing short sleeves today is probably heinous to somebody in the early 19th century (except at balls--even Mormon women in the 1840s would wear off-the-shoulder gowns because it was standard fashion of the day and only men wore garments back then). I think the key somehow is teaching girls to respect their bodies without obsessing over if they're showing too much or too little (the article pointed out why not just let women wear what makes them feel comfortable, no matter what it is). I don't know the right answer of the perfect way to teach modesty to young women, but it definitely does concern me.
I have thought probably a little too much on the modesty issue, because, like you, I have been bothered by the way we often portray it and talk about it. I have so much I could say on the issue. Perhaps we should have a good conversation about it sometime. :)
ReplyDeleteThe article addressed some of what I had been thinking about for a long time, so I appreciate that others out there are campaigning to keep people from objectifying women. Personally, I think that we also do harm with our strict modesty guidelines in the church because we risk fetishizing parts of the female body that aren't even inherently sexual ("you better cover your shoulders or thighs or whatever or else people will start to have bad thoughts about you"). And the line on these things is always changing and often arbitrary. Wearing short sleeves today is probably heinous to somebody in the early 19th century (except at balls--even Mormon women in the 1840s would wear off-the-shoulder gowns because it was standard fashion of the day and only men wore garments back then). I think the key somehow is teaching girls to respect their bodies without obsessing over if they're showing too much or too little (the article pointed out why not just let women wear what makes them feel comfortable, no matter what it is). I don't know the right answer of the perfect way to teach modesty to young women, but it definitely does concern me.