Modesty En Vogue

National Catholic Register ^ | June 8-14, 2003 | BARB EARNSTER

[nickcarraway]

ping

[agite rem mente]

It's strange - go to the beach and see all the girls in scanty bikinis and all the men and boys have on knickers (swim suits) almost below their knees.

[nickcarraway]

A RETURN TO MODESTY: Discovering the Lost Virtue by Wendy Shalit

[Robert DeLong]

Unfortunately it will never turn around until the men turn it around, which of course, is probably not likely to happen.

[Capitalist Eric]

A good article. At 36, I've just finished after returning to school to finish a degree, and I admit I was disgusted, after only a short time, with the way young women dress...

God knows, I hope modesty and femininity come back soon. Or, when I decide to get back on the dating scene, I'll have to do it with passport in hand.

The contemporary dating scene usually consists of fat, sloppy women in hip-hugger pants with 15 pounds of "my cup runneth over," a bolt through the nose that makes you wonder if they whistle when they sneeze (?), and a tattoo across the back of the pelvis that looks suspiciously similar to a wide load sign...

I like "ladies," not just women. Talking trash and looking trashy are not just a turn-off, but downright revolting.

Here's hoping for a positive change...

[txhurl]

'Fraid not. This nation needs another baby boom, and the way our young women behave, looks like we're gonna get it soon.

[gcruse]

Girls should be obscene and not heard.

[Paul Atreides]

What is also strange is that the feminist movement was about women being as little like their mothers as possible (provocative dress, no bras, and sexually loose). Well, now that the genie is out of the bottle, and the feminists don't like the results of what they have wrought, it is up to those with traditional values to deal with the crapola.

[Capitalist Eric]

This nation needs another baby boom,

OK, I'll bite.... WHY?

[Mygirlsmom]

As a mom of 3 girls, I can attest to the fact that it's a nightmare trying to find respectable clothing for them. Take my two 9 year olds for example: They wear size 8 and 12 in girls' sizes, but we have been unable to buy tops in the girls' department for the last two years because even size extra large ends up being so short after one washing that my girls refuse to wear them. One daughter in particular is so concerned that her underwear is showing when she sits or raises her arms that she sometimes cries in the morning (Guess I'm getting a passing grade on teaching modesty). This leaves the junior department where the tops are a bit longer, but so low cut that they're obscene. I buy older more modestly cut jeans at resale shops to make shorts and capri pants as a solution to the hip hugger problem, but it is frustrating. And they're right - at least in our case my girls really do want to be modest.

We had the "swimsuit battle" with our 13 year old this year. "Everyone" got two pieces, and we worked hard to find a suit that was acceptable to both mom and daughter. I've noticed, however, that she's worn her old one pieces pretty much every time she's gone swimming so far.

[Paul Atreides]

I don't know how it is for women, but I have had a lot of success buying clothing on the Internet.

[txhurl]

Why, to replace the retiring baby boomers, silly!

[Mr. Mojo]

At a time when exposed midriffs....

I have an exposed midriff as well. Unfortunately, it's not intentional.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Tattoos used to mean "permanent reminders of temporary insanity." Now they serve as an STD early warning system.

[boris]

Sometimes they go overboard. My friend's eldest daughter attends a public high-school with a "zero tolerance" rule for bare midriffs. In the library, she reached up to take a book from a high shelf--and exposed skin briefly around the midriff. Whammo--detention for her, no arguments.

Me, I think it unfair.

--Boris

[Mr. Mojo]

Girls exposing body parts in high school can be very bad for one's GPA. In 8th grade I was fortunate enough to have the best looking girl in school sit next to me in one class. She wore button-down shirts with the first 3 or 4 buttons undone, and she hadn't yet discovered the bra.

Needless to say, I don't even vaguely remember what the teacher looked like, let alone what he/she taught.

[mlmr]

I buy boy's plain basic t-shirts for my girls. Walmart makes a basic t without pictures or writing, and reaonable cargo or painter's pants. I have been dressing my girls with selected items from the boy's department sice the victoria's secret underare look that was popular with babies back fourteen years ago. Lots of denim and oshgosh. Lands end and some Beans to round things out. Also trips to Good will and the Sally's

[mlmr]

It sounds like she needs to wear shirts that can be tucked in.