Modesty

There has been a video on YouTube making the rounds on Facebook about the evolution of the swimsuit and modesty. I have watched the video, and have many thoughts on the subject of modesty. Since this is my blog, I thought I'd get those thoughts out there.

First of all, I'm all for modesty. I'm actually for dressing however you choose to feel comfortable. I choose to dress modestly for a variety of reasons. However, I do not dress modestly to control how men think about me. I fear that many times modesty is taught as a way to not have men objectify you and think impure thoughts. It is not my job to control how men think, and if they are thinking impure thoughts based on what I'm wearing then that is something they need to work on, not me.

In the video, the speaker states that men who see a girl in a bikini are more likely to think of her as an object and this is not empowering. First of all, there is a difference in wearing a bikini to the beach and wearing one to, say, the office. If I wore a bikini to the office, I think it'd mostly be perceived as very unprofessional, regardless of being objectified. At the beach, I think wearing a bikini is totally fine. If you feel comfortable wearing it then wear it; it is not up to a girl to have to always think about what her clothing is doing to boys. And a girl shouldn't be judged because she is wearing a bikini.

I get very easily distracted by a man with a beard. Or who's wearing a suit and tie. Or who's wearing a t-shirt. Or who's wearing shorts. Or who's wearing a sweater. Or who's wearing shoes. My point is that we naturally find the opposite sex attractive, but we can control how we react to them and either treat them like persons or objects.  This should be expected of men who see women dressed "immodestly" and women, too. Modesty should be a personal choice based on what you want to wear and what you feel comfortable in.