Immodesty and the lack of respect for women - two sides of the same coin.
Respect for women in this country is at an all time low, and much of that is because of the way they dress, Going shopping, to class and even to Sunday Mass, in a t-shirt, jeans or shorts, does nothing to enhance the dignity of a woman. Women dress the way they do today because someone, over half a century ago, decided they wanted to dumb down America, and convincing people to be less concerned about how they dress is one way of doing it.
Our society today suffers from an acute lack of critical thinking skills, and there is a definite connection between the way we dress and how we think. If we dress like slobs, we soon begin to think like slobs. No discipline of body – no discipline of mind. This situation did not come about by accident, but was a well orchestrated plan to help destroy our Christian society. In her book "Dressing With Dignity”, Colleen Hammond explains this point in detail.
In her article, “The Dignity of True Femininity”, Dr. Anne Marie McDonnell also illustrates the extent of the problem. She says: “For a woman to live according to Catholic teaching in today’s society she needs heroic virtue. Every form of media, including television, movies, magazines, books, computers, music, and theater all assault women's human dignity, often portraying her in a pornographic manner as an object of lust."
Women need to understand that men react differently than women in regards to modesty. The following quote illustrates the point.
”Women must learn that men are “wired” differently and the way a woman dresses can have a definite impact on how a man reacts to her. As an example, if a man is watching a TV talk show or interview, and sees a modestly dressed woman sitting on a chair or couch and she is wearing a dress or skirt that extends several inches below the knees, she is viewed as a total woman and the mans concentration is on her, as a complete person, and on what she is saying or whatever her purpose is for being on that particular show.
However, if you take the same woman and shorten her skirt so that it is two or three inches above the knees, then the man perceives her in a different manner, more as a sexual object. He no longer views her as a whole person worthy of respect. Instead, he sees her as a collection of parts, with some parts drawing more attention than others. This sexual “evaluation” all takes place in split second in the brain, but has the effect of distracting the man from what she is saying, because her appearance is sending a different message.
Even if they are full length and not tight fitting, a pair of slacks on a woman has the same psychological effect of dividing her up into parts”.
Mrs. Hammond discusses this phenomenon in her above-mentioned book. Also, the above quote correlates very well with a modesty talk given to freshman girls every year at Christendom College.
Both Scripture and History have shown that when the women of a country are virtuous, the country is strong, but if the moral standards of those women decline, as they have in this country, then the moral standards of men also fall and that society soon begins to sink deeper and deeper into the waters of moral decay.
In times past, most young girls were raised as maidens of virtue and innocence. All aspects of their femininity were cultivated and they emerged from their youthful years as refined young women of modesty, character and grace, possessing all the necessary skills that would one day allow them to assume the important God given role of wife and mother.
Sadly, this is no longer the case in our present day culture. We have done a complete about-face in our attitudes toward sin and God’s laws. To today’s "liberated woman", the concepts of modesty and feminine loveliness are almost completely foreign.
This idea that women must take the lead in matters of modesty and in guiding men to holiness is not new. I have found several such statements in a number of old prayer books and Church writings. Below, I have listed several quotes from one such book.
The name of this particular book is “Hail Holy Queen, a Book of Prayer and Counsel for Catholic Girls and Women, the Roman Missal for Sundays”, by Fr. Charles J. Callan and Fr. John A. McHugh. They wrote the following:
“If the standards of morals in a country or age is low, you may be sure that it is because the women of that country or age are lax in their morals; for women, being naturally more virtuous than men, are looked up to by men as models in matters pertaining to modesty and purity. This is why the Church is so insistent that women be modest in their dress.” Pg 3
“A woman should never lose respect for her own body, for it is the work of God; it is the instrument and companion of her soul and the temple of the Holy Ghost, destined for future glorification.” Pg. 53
“A woman may not be expensively dressed, or wearing the latest “fad” clothing. She may not have those attractions which are most admired by the world; but if she has the virtues of modesty and purity, she has something that money cannot buy, a treasure which will outlast all the fading glitter of the world.” Pg.53
“Some women are so delightfully neat and stylish that they always appear to be dressed up, however plain and inexpensive her clothes may be. Others there are who look as if they dwell in a region of perpetual cyclones, and whom the entire garment industry could never suffice to make them look dressed up. Try to emulate the better way.” Pg. 4
In view of the above-mentioned ideas, I would urge women to reconsider the manner in which they dress, and also the manner in which they dress their young children. How often do we see, even at Sunday Mass, young girls dressed in skimpy outfits, thus accustoming them to immodesty at a very early age.
And, as a side note, I should, at least, mention the disgraceful display of immodesty exhibited by brides and their bridal parties an most Catholic weddings today. Recently, at such a wedding I attended, the comment was made that the bride and bridal party looked more like the Playboy Review than an occasion of “Holy” matrimony.
In conclusion, I would offer a challenge to any woman who reads this article. For two or three weeks, get rid of the t-shirts, slacks and old tennis shoes and wear a long skirt and nice blouse, or dress, and dress very feminine and ladylike (but not extravagantly), and notice how you are treated by other people, men especially.
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