Over at Woman Honor thyself if a nice post called WomaN: Cover Thyself.
I have talked about modesty here before, but there are two nice quotes that I would like to address today:
- Modesty, historically granted women the right to ?withhold themselves? from men who had dishonorable intentions. And yes, using a woman for sex without any form of commitment was viewed as ignoble and sleazy by both men and women.
When I was younger I was taught that dressing modestly served not only to honor yourself, but was a kindness for those men around you who were trying to be their better selves. How difficult it is for a young man to NOT stare at that flesh proudly on display at the pool, the school and the shopping mall. No matter how much he might want to respect a girl or know her from the neck up it is tricky when she is exposing so much from the neck down.
There is such a hypocrisy to the modern idea of dressing like a street walker while expecting people (men) to respect you for your skills, talents and intellectual ability.
Nothing frightens me more then sending my children out into a world where casual sex is more and more the norm. I shudder when I hear other parents talk about how they want their children (daughters) to go out and experience life, they don’t want them to wait for marriage to have sex, they want them to be out there “experiencing” life (sex) before they settle down. I actually heard a woman I generally respect say “I would be sad for my daughter if she didn’t get to experience a range of different sexual experiences before she settles down.”
Historically women might have been “withholding” parts of themselves. But in the wider culture out there it seems like there is no longer considered a general goodness to virginity or chastity. These are thing reserved to the morally repressive fringe. Not the “sex-positive” open minded folks out there.
Modesty may not sell.
But that all depends how much of your soul is up for grabs, now doesn?t it.
Sad but true. Modesty doesn’t sell… but is it supposed to? Some things shouldn’t be for sale. Physical appearance is a veneer to the soul. The quality of the core can not be ascertained from inspecting just the outer layer. But modesty has within it a dignity. A care of self and concern for others.
Simply Catholic 