Now let\u2019s move on to the post itself:<\/p>\n
\nModern women everywhere are taught that it\u2019s perfectly normal to uncover 90% of their skin in public. Everything from\u00a0bathing suits<\/a>, to\u00a0formal wear<\/a>, to\u00a0athletic clothes<\/a>\u00a0has been stripped down to the bare minimum.<\/p>\n
Our culture teaches women that\u00a0undressing<\/a>\u00a0and even going nude is empowering for our gender. We see this in the increasingly popular acceptance of female porn stars.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
You want to hear something ironic? Kristen Clark, the author of this piece, describes herself as \u201cpassionate about fighting feminism\u201d but appears to be completely unaware of the epic battles within feminism over pornography. Some feminists argue that pornography is okay and even empowering while others argue that pornography is the product of a sexist patriarchal society that objectifies women. Regardless of a given feminists\u2019s position, I\u2019m fairly certain that most feminists would gawk at the idea that feminism is the reason for \u201cthe increasingly popular acceptance of female porn stars\u201d\u2014whatever exactly Clark means by that.<\/p>\n
\nSadly, though, the results have proven to be anything but empowering. If you talk to the average woman today, you will slowly uncover a defeated woman who is insecure, unhappy, and completely discontent with her body and her life.<\/p>\n
Empowering? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n
A study called \u201cThe Paradox of Declining Female Happiness<\/a>\u201d stated, \u201cWomen are less happy nowadays despite 40 years of feminism. Despite having more opportunities than ever before, they have a lower sense of well-being and life satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
There are a number of problems with using the study Clark cites to make the point she makes\u2014for one thing, the difference the researches found was tiny, and for another thing, female suicide rates have fallen during this same period\u00a0while male suicide rates have remained stable. It\u2019s also worth noting that she\u2019s missing a variable in her analysis. It would be perfectly reasonable to suggest, based on the evidence she presents here, that women\u2019s happiness may be affected by the oversized share of housework and childcare women continue to shoulder even as they now carry a more equal share of the income earning. Actually, that\u2019s not the only variable that\u2019s missing. We might ask, for example, whether women have higher expectations today than they did forty years ago, and whether that affects their happiness level. All this is to say that Clark\u2019s data does not say what she thinks it says.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s go back a paragraph or so to this: \u201cIf you talk to the average woman today, you will slowly uncover a defeated woman who is insecure, unhappy, and completely discontent with her body and her life.\u201d What in the world kind of friend group does Clark have, exactly?! I am a woman myself and have many many many female friends and frankly, that description is not true of\u00a0any<\/em>\u00a0of them. If Clark thinks she\u2019s describing the average woman there, she needs to get out more!<\/p>\n
\nRather than jumping on board with our culture\u2019s push to undress, I\u2019m proposing a new method for empowering women.\u00a0Modesty.\u00a0<\/em>I strongly believe that modesty empowers women far (far!) more than nudity does.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Okay, personal story time. Growing up in an evangelical home, I was raised on Clark\u2019s modesty standards. Dressing modestly never felt empowering. I spent an awful lot of time judging other women for wearing revealing clothing and deeming myself holier because I covered up properly, but empowering? No. You know what felt empowering? Coming out of this mindset and realizing that I could wear whatever I damn well pleased.<\/p>\n
Also, what is this contrasting of modesty with nudity? [Edit: I originally explained the reasons I don\u2019t go nude\u2014it\u2019s not socially inappropriate, and I don\u2019t think I would find it very comfortable. However, a reader pointed out that my discussion of nudity sounded a bit like a condemnation of nudity. It was not intended that way! Oops! The level of nudity that is considered appropriate varies by culture, and there is nothing shameful about nudity. I\u2019ve read interesting defenses of nude beaches that point out that exposure to\u00a0nudity demystifies the human body in a way that is not at all sexual. The point I was trying to make here is that Clark frequently argues against strawmen in her post. Clark is upset about the relative amount<\/em> of clothing people wear, not nudity, but contrasting\u00a0modesty with nudity allows her to provide the highest possible level of shock and horror to her (presumably conservative) readers.]<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s move on to Clark\u2019s four reasons.<\/p>\n
\n1. Modesty places value on a woman\u2019s body (porn doesn\u2019t).<\/strong><\/p>\n
Women were created by God to be physically beautiful\u2014full of soft curves and a lovely figure. However, God didn\u2019t design the intimate parts of this beautiful body to be consumed by any passerby. When we, as women, uncover and reveal our intimate body parts, we cheapen their value.<\/p>\n
A large diamond is considered precious and valuable because it\u2019s rare and uncommon. Modesty works the same way. By covering our intimate parts, we boldly state that we are precious, valuable, and not available for common consumption.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Women\u00a0are not objects that are\u00a0\u201cconsumed.\u201d It doesn\u2019t work that way. It\u2019s true that there are some who reduce women to objects, but dressing \u201cmodestly\u201d won\u2019t change that (indeed,\u00a0even wearing a burka<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t change it). I mean good grief, Clark herself reduces women to objects in this very section when she compares women to diamonds! Is it that hard to approach women as\u00a0people?<\/em><\/p>\n
Question<\/strong>: Why does no one ever talk abut a man \u201ccheapening his value\u201d when showing off his muscles?<\/p>\n
Answer<\/strong>: Because purity advocates treat women, and not men,<\/em> as objects to be consumed.<\/p>\n
Our value doesn\u2019t come from our bodies or our physical appearance. It\u2019s true that there are some who believe otherwise, and who tie our value to our appearance and looks . . . and yes, I am once again talking about Clark here, because\u00a0she<\/em>\u00a0is the one who is tying women\u2019s value to their physical appearance. What else are we to take away from her claim that dressing in clothing she doesn\u2019t approve of cheapens our value?<\/p>\n
There is some serious irony going on here. Modesty advocates often deride the objectification of women and then turn around and reduce women to objects themselves. And similarly, they often deride the tying of women\u2019s value to their physical appearance . . . while tying women\u2019s value to their physical appearance.<\/p>\n
Note: A reader has pointed out that Clark\u2019s diamond analogy falls flat for another reason. While diamonds are rare, they are meant to be shown off and displayed. Their owners don\u2019t hide them in bank vaults, they wear them in jewelry or display them in museums for all eyes to see\u2014and that level of display does not lessen their value. If anything, it increases it, by making them only more desirable and alluring.<\/p>\n
\n2. Modesty promotes female dignity (porn makes her an object).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Pornography and immodesty have completely backfired on women. Rather than gaining more respect and dignity in the eyes of men, we have become objects to consume. By undressing, we have trained many modern men to view us as nothing more than eye candy. We have thrown our dignity down the drain at the false promise of becoming more empowered.<\/p>\n
Putting our clothes back on is the first step to regaining some ground. Actions speak louder than words. By dressing modestly we silently proclaim that we are not purchasable objects. We are dignified women who value our bodies, and expect the same from others.<\/p>\n
As\u00a0Jessica Rey stated<\/a>, \u201cModesty isn\u2019t about hiding ourselves, it\u2019s about revealing our dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Now wait just a minute. In the previous section, Clark jumped all over herself describing women as objects to consume, and here she writes that\u00a0wearing revealing clothing has made women objects to consume. Sorry Clark, you can\u2019t have it both ways. Clark is in fact arguing that women are objects to consume\u2014she just wants them to be consumed only by their husbands. Well you know what?\u00a0I reject the idea that I am an object to consume.<\/em>\u00a0I reject the entire framework.<\/p>\n
If a man looks at me and thinks I\u2019m sexy, what\u2019s it to me? I\u2019ve not been \u201cconsumed.\u201d I\u2019m still just as much here and just as much whole as before. And you know what? No amount of \u201cmodest\u201d dressing will prevent men (and women!) from sometimes looking at a woman and thinking \u201csexy.\u201d\u00a0Clark doesn\u2019t wear a burlap sack<\/a>\u00a0(and as I\u2019ve pointed out, even that wouldn\u2019t be enough). If you go\u00a0through life obsessing over whether men are looking at you and thinking \u201csexy\u201d you\u2019re going to be miserable.<\/p>\n
Now\u00a0I know I\u2019m starting to sound like a broken record here, but I do have to point out that Clark once again ties women\u2019s value to their physical appearance and their bodies. She has tied women\u2019s \u201cdignity\u201d to what they wear. This is\u00a0absurd<\/em>. It is absolutely absurd that we should have to dress in the way Clark wants in order to gain her respect. Clark needs a serious reality check here. Who is she to tell women how or whether they value their bodies? Who is she to decide what a woman who values\u00a0her body looks or dresses like? Who is she to judge women who dress in ways she does not like unworthy of respect?<\/p>\n
Clark thinks she has the solution when\u00a0in fact\u00a0she is the problem.<\/p>\n
\n3. Modesty demands respect (porn does the opposite).<\/strong><\/p>\n
Women want respect just like men do. Sadly\u2014in my opinion\u2014nothing has destroyed respect for women more than the porn industry. I looked up synonyms for\u00a0respect<\/em>, and I found words like \u201cesteem,\u201d \u201cregard,\u201d \u201chigh opinion,\u201d admiration, reverence, and honor. Porn encourages none of those for women. Why? Because porn turns us into \u201cobjects\u201d and objects are disposable and replaceable.<\/p>\n
Women who dress with modest class naturally demand more respect. When we\u00a0respect our own bodies<\/a>, we encourage the respect, honor, and admiration from those around us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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