Maybe modesty really trumps bare-it-all freedom
Atlanta Journal-Constitution 06-24-2006 | By Lorraine V Murray
It's a strange thing about religion. Seen from the outside, some traditions seem like terrible impositions.
But from the inside looking out, the customs make perfect sense.An example: A recent Washington Post article described 500 Saudi Arabian women attending a lecture in traditional, head-to-toe black garb.
The women were not there, however, to protest that they wanted more freedom to dress as they please. Instead, they underscored the importance of following the teachings of their faith. According to the story, college professors, award-winning scientists and writers made up the crowd of veiled women, who don't come across as meek and submissive, but rather as well-versed in the rules of their religion.
The article reported that, "Conservative, religious women seem to constitute a sizable portion of the country's female population, belying notions that most Saudi women are unhappy with their lot and waiting to be liberated."
To some women, the veil symbolizes oppression, and the prohibitions against men and women mingling in public seem a terrible loss of freedom. To conservative Saudi women, however, the veil represents protection and obedience to their faith.
As a Catholic, I was taught by women wearing head coverings, plus floor-length dresses with long sleeves. The only skin the nuns revealed in public was on their hands and faces.
In the '60s, many nuns opted for regular clothing, but today there are still Anglican and Catholic nuns who wear the habit. One flourishing order is Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, who wear long saris and head coverings
So why do traditional nuns dress this way? The obvious answer is the same one that a married Orthodox Jewish woman might give when she covers her own hair in public with hats, scarves or wigs, and dons long skirts and long-sleeved blouses.
The word is modesty. Still, this can be a difficult concept to embrace, especially in the United States, where we are accustomed to seeing women dressing skimpily. We may immediately jump to the conclusion that anyone in veil, wig or habit is oppressed and unhappy and anyone in a miniskirt is free.
But is it possible that women wearing low-rise jeans and tank tops are slavishly following the dictates of fashion?
It is true that religions don't allow anyone, male or female, unbridled freedom. Keeping the Sabbath holy and refraining from cursing, stealing and killing, for example, all put checks on the human desire to do whatever we please.
And it is not just women whose appearance may be dictated by religious customs. Think about the Jewish man in the yarmulke, the Buddhist monk in his robes and the priest wearing the cassock.
I grew up in Florida, the land of anything-goes clothing, and did the usual stint in miniskirts in my 20s. But I also used to complain bitterly when men yelled suggestive comments at me as I walked by construction sites.
Could it be we had our messages mixed up? For me, the miniskirt was just a fashion statement, but for some men, it evidently was a provocative and not-so-subtle cry for attention.
Deciding to dress modestly does restrict one's options, since you can't just throw on shorts and head to the grocery store. But perhaps women who embrace modest dress have glimpsed a deeper sense of freedom.
Surely a woman whose blouse fully covers her is likely to receive fewer sexual innuendoes from strange men than a woman in a halter top.
If single, she is freeing herself from the annoying perception that she is a sex object. If married, she is liberating herself from the appraising eyes of men other than her husband.
It seems that many women are tired of wearing revealing fashions that designers parade out each season and are worried about their daughters doing the same
A Mormon woman in Utah launched Shade Clothing for teens, a line of T-shirts and camisoles that can be worn under revealing clothes, while a group of Catholic women started a movement for girls called Pure Fashion.
If it is true that fashion makes a statement, maybe women should think long and hard about the messages our garments convey to others. Maybe it's time to consider clothing with a timeless message. One that makes perfect sense to women of many faiths.