Modesty

Ok. So, I am more than positive that most of anyone who read last weeks blog didn't really agree with what I said. I'm ok with that. Mostly because I don't think I explained myself very well. I think that regularly of my posts here. This week is, I think, a little more straightforward.

Modesty is a big issue for this generation and it continues to grow with each passing generation. The issue? We have no modesty. There are a few different ways you can interpret modesty, but the most straightforward way is the one I want to talk about. Modesty in regards to our physical appearance is a thing of the past...or so everyone seems to think.

Growing up, I remember being instructed on what modesty was. I didn't really understand what being immodest does and how it affects people, but have since learned the older I've gotten. I've learned that dressing (or not dressing as the case may be) a certain way can alter someone's perception of you entirely. That alteration has potential to be either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

Middle school was when the other girls my age began wearing less modest clothing. Middle school is when we really start to become aware that there is a definite difference between boys and girls. Puberty hits everyone. Cracking voices and the beginnings of raging hormones rule the school. That's also when we start being given a little bit of independence. I remember watching as many other girls in my grade chose to wear less modest clothing and because most of them were more popular than me, that's what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, or fortunately however you want to put it, the clothing they wore was fairly well forbidden in my house. My parents had pretty strict rules about modesty that I tried more than once to bend. Which, on a side note, is kind of interesting because I think skimpy clothing is meant to show off...and at thirteen, most girls don't really have anything to show off. Seems to be rather stupid if you ask me.

As my life has progressed, the value of modesty has regressed. I have witnessed little girls running around in very little clothing; ie low cut spaghetti straps, mid riff baring tanks, and Daisy Dukes and mini skirts. When I say little girls, I mean four and five year olds. Kind of silly, huh?

Don't get me wrong. I would completely fight against the high necks, long sleeves, and long dresses of days past. I live in Texas! There's no way I'd be willing to walk around in the summer heat in an outfit like that. I don't, however, believe we are doing anyone any favors by allowing our children to "learn" about sex appeal before they can even read.

Modesty is a beautiful thing. I applaud anyone who can remain modest in the society we live in. It can be very difficult to find clothing that won't reaveal everything to everyone. I'm not disputing that. In the long run, it's very worth it. I don't think women in general, but especially younger women really understand the power they have over men. Some know and don't care. Little girls definitely don't know.

I think that when we dress them in more revealing clothing, we think it's harmless. "They're little girls. No one is going to objectify a little girl and look at her like she's a sex object." ...Excuse me?! What planet are you living on?! There are so many stories of sick, sick people doing horrific things to little girls. I'm not saying it only happens to girls who are less modest cause I don't believe that in the least. I do think that, even if nothing bad happens to them when they're young, we are setting them up for failure.

I have been on both sides. There was about a year and a half where I didn't really care about anything of any importance. I did what I wanted and it generally didn't involve I would care to repeat in mixed company. I was one of the girls who'd been raised with a sense of modesty. I knew what was inappropriate to wear. I figured out really quickly why it was forbidden at home. I learned why my parents had taught me to dress in a way that left some of my figure to the imagination. The opposite turned guys around me into submissive idiots at times and then demanding jerks at others. I knew how to use my sex appeal to my advantage and it almost always involved revealing clothing.

So there is no doubt about what immodesty does to the male species, let me lay it out for you. I don't mean to get biblical, so forgive me if that's how this sounds. Men and women were created with the ability to have children. Our bodies were specifically designed for that. We were also given urges that can be very difficult to control sometimes. As one who's lost control on more than one occassion, I can vouch for that difficulty. Immodesty makes it all the more difficult. That's just the way we are designed. It's hard for anyone to concentrate when there is so little left to the imagination. I don't mean just girls either.

The point I'm trying to make is that our children become what we teach them to be. If we teach them that it's ok to walk around in almost nothing, what do you think their future attitude will be? Why do you think sexting is so accepted now? Kids have no concept of the value of modesty because we don't teach it to them. Why are we allowing them to think it's ok to look like a hooker at the age of 5?