Friday, August 05, 2005

Whatever Happened To Modesty?

I just saw a television commercial for back-to-school clothes. Oh my. In the commercial there is a young pre-teen girl trying on different outfits, all of which cover very little of herself. Why do girls (and women for that matter) need to show so much of themselves? And at school, no less?! Oh, I'm not such a prude that I don't remember wanting clothes like that for myself when I was younger. I was not raised in a home where modesty (or the reasons for it) was really addressed, but then it was also understood that there were just some things we would not wear out of the house, young lady! Today's pre-teens are dressing like the streetwalkers of only a generation or two ago.

Back in the 1800s a man who caught a glimpse of a woman's ankle considered himself fortunate! A woman's shoulders were also considered to be an especially feminine part of herself, perhaps in contrast to a man's broad shoulders, and they also were not shown except to a husband. There used to be some mystique about what were considered feminine parts of a woman's body, such as her upper arms, shoulders, legs, ankles and feet. Doesn't it stand to reason that if a man only sees these things on his wife and not all day, every day, then some of that mystique would remain for him to enjoy? Now there is nothing left to the imagination. Proponents of video game bans claim that too much violence has "hardened" a generation of children and the shock value is no longer there. The same is true of television and movie violence and even sex on TV or in the movies. It's the same as developing a tolerance to a drug - you need more and more for there to be an effect. I view modesty the same way. How can a man ever appreciate a woman's feminine attributes when he sees them everywhere he goes? That makes them everyday and ordinary - not something to be treasured and appreciated because they are not seen often.

My point in all of this rambling is that amidst all the societal ills that we have today, I know modesty will probably never make a comeback, but it sure would be nice if it did. And that's my humble opinion on this Friday!

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