[ClearBlueSky]

Well- you're going to hear this.
How many women do you think would CHOOSE to obscure their humanity totally, or suffer in layers of clothing, if there were not an element of FEAR involved?
The fear of physical punishment and/or death is very real for some of these women. We can't know how much of their attire is 'chosen' because of 'modesty' until the intimidation and fear is removed as a factor.
With all the reports of family members actually killing their wives/daughters/sisters etc for 'immodest behavior' why do you insist that modesty-not fear- is the motivation for most Muslim women?
Even those who think they choose because of 'modesty' have been programmed to think that way. Psychological oppression, cultural pressure and group-think all play a part in what choices they think they have and are 'free' to make.

[mamelukesabre]

Fear? Are you sure, feminist? You do realize this is the same stupid argument feminists used against good christian women such as my mother? You sound an awful lot like hitlery clinton when she scoffed at tammy wynette about her "stand by your man" song.

Do you really believe women of the eighteen hundreds all wore long dresses because of fear that they would be raped otherwise? or murdered by their husbands?

I could care less what atrocities happen in some backward illiterate inbred town in the middle of nowhere middle east. So don't throw that up as proof that clothing on a woman is a bad thing.

The purpose of my post was to make people think about what the heck we are fighting here. We are not fighting modest muslim women. We should not be so critical of them. We are fighting terrorists. Islamofascists. Last I checked, modest clothing on females isn't a threat to america. It might be a threat to brittny spears, but so the * what!? She is a disease on our culture that should be stamped out anyway.