Modesty Essay

Are women supposed to "cover up"? Is it our duty as women to hide our bodies in order to not become sexualized as human beings? Why is it that men are not subject to the same sexualization, victimization and means as women are? These are a few of the many questions brought to my mind when I think of modesty. Society defines modesty in ways that have changed over time to the point in which the line between being modest and what is not modest has become blurred. Religions often times regulate the amount of skin or the level of modesty a woman should have. Multiple religions partake in religious coverings, clothing, or symbols worn on a woman 's ' body but hardly any force men to do the same or model a similar fashion. Between religion and media there is a strict pattern in the ways a woman is supposed to dress.

Religious

Christian women believe this too. Here lies the question, how much skin is too much skin? Where does a woman of society cross the line of showing too much skin? Over the years society has changed it’s beliefs as to what is considered scandalous for the woman to wear. In past years such as the 1910’s or 1920’s it was considered scandalous for women to be showing off their ankles. Before this time, women wore long floor length dresses which in turn generally had a low neck line. However, style continued to change. Women eventually started following more of “male” fashion patterns by wearing pants! How unbelievable is it that pants were once considered scandalous. Interesting enough, pants covered just as much as the floor length skirts had previously covered but still these pants were not considered modest (Tasi). These examples demonstrate how society has changed the definition of modest over the years. A notable difference has been established between what is now considered modest and what used to be considered modest by most women, including Christian