Wait… Modesty… What is That?
Well, it is a God-given virtue that, at one time in history inspired a true, female beauty, but now it has become almost completely absent in our society. On second thought, I take that back. Actually, for experts in the field of fashion, modesty is known as boring, too simple, not edgy enough, old-fashioned, not the “it” thing to wear! Through time, modesty has been diluted and in the media it is almost non-existent.
In the 90’s it was scandalous for famous pop musician Madonna to wear the infamous pointy-cone bra. Now it is normal for a woman to go to a club in her underwear or walk the streets wearing a see-through skirt. Magazine editors call it “fashion forward.”
But what is modesty anyway? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Modesty is decency. It inspires one’s choice of clothing… It is discrete… [and]… protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden.” ~ CCC 2521-2522
In other words it is the act of choosing to dress the body in a simple manner to protect others from temptation. Yet as history unfolds, the body is uncovered more and more. As faith has declined so has modesty.
A Suffering Sex
Today, women suffer from identity issues, low self-esteem, and unhealthy disorders among other problems. For years, the media has conditioned us to the idea that the more we show off our bodies the sexier and more attractive we become. And unfortunately, women, who are not guided by the Holy Spirit, have fallen for these subliminal messages. Now they suffer from compulsive disorders such as bulimia or anorexia, and or alcohol and drug abuse. They become sex-addicts, or compulsive shoppers. Many even believe that being a mother will make them loose their sex-appeal and thus opt for extreme measures such as abortion and birth control. Because they can’t accept who they are, thousands of women undergo life-threatening procedures just for the sake of looking younger and more appealing.
Such messages are more prevalent than ever. They are fed to us in the way editorial pictures are presented in magazines and how producers plot advertisements; through the lines of hollywood actors and through the lyrics in music videos. It is discretely displayed in the characters’ style, make up, personality, and demeanor. It is everywhere indirectly.
Conditioned to Indecency
As time has passed, we have been conditioned that it is “normal” to look and act a certain way, otherwise, you are not “in.” Decency is out of the picture and without notice women become corrupted of mind, body and soul, giving in to indecent behaviors. In most media, men treat women as objects and are used just for sexual advances. Reality TV shows such as The Bachelor are good examples. The Bachelor spends intimate moments (including kissing, hugging, and touching) with the group of women, then discards them one by one until he is left with only two to choose from. Then, men in real life expect women to behave the same way and look the same way as the women in these shows, otherwise, she is not attractive. Thus, women dress, look, and behave according to the standards imposed on them by the media as a whole.
As a society, we have been robbed of true decency and no longer see the body as the temple of God. Thus it is normal to avoid a “decent apparel…[decorated]… with modesty and sobriety… (1 Timothy 2, 9)” because it is not the trendy thing to do anymore. Nowadays, it is okay to dress as you like anywhere you go. Listening to the God-given sense of what is proper to wear is out of style. Thus it is normal to wear anything to church. What happened to modest clothing? We have lost all sense of reverence to the Temple of God, both our bodies and especially His Church, which is “the house of God… the privileged place for adoration of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. (CCC 2691)”
Many women forget where they are going on Sunday and wear the most revealing outfits to Mass. Of course, temptation takes every chance it can get to distract us and makes it possible for the weak to wander from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to the neighboring legs or cleavage. With such countless, thoughtless distractions, adoring our Lord during the most sacred time of the consecration, the Holy Eucharist is the last thing on the minds of these men, of our brothers in Christ. To think that the way we dress can rob our brothers in Christ of their experience with and worship of the Lord, how can we be so selfish?