09-23-2018, 07:02 PM
Well, that’s what I meant by ramble.
And I’m on meds, so forgive me if I’m a bit slow.
My point is that if they did show shoulders and collarbones, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal on a guy as it is on a girl, because that’s just how we view their bodies. A man breaking dress rules is more of a cultural taboo, which he might very well be reprimanded for, but a woman doing it makes her some variety of seductress. And to be honest, I don’t have a thorough knowledge of any branch of Christianity left of Southern Baptists, and I’m not sure where you fall, but my impression is that the bulk of Christianity has some form of inequal modesty standard, even if it’s mainly in the minds of the followers (as in not explicitly taught anymore, but everyone still learns it from each other; or it is explicitly taught but in a low-key way because they don’t actually expect anyone to follow tradition), rather than being totally committed to being truly counter culture and advocating for never policing a woman’s dress.
It’s really easy to think that something like harrassment doesn’t happen often when you haven’t seen it, but when you’re not the target, it’s not always obvious what’s happening. Women don’t always make a scene when they’re groped. Harassment can be whispered, or over texting, or by a boss. Every single time I was harassed in public school and youth group, there were other people around, but either no one happened to notice, no one thought it was bad enough to say anything, or people were too intimidated to step up.
Certainly it’s not just Christianity causing the problem, but you’d said Christianity teaches self-restraint and not victim-blaming, which is what I was responding to.

My point is that if they did show shoulders and collarbones, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal on a guy as it is on a girl, because that’s just how we view their bodies. A man breaking dress rules is more of a cultural taboo, which he might very well be reprimanded for, but a woman doing it makes her some variety of seductress. And to be honest, I don’t have a thorough knowledge of any branch of Christianity left of Southern Baptists, and I’m not sure where you fall, but my impression is that the bulk of Christianity has some form of inequal modesty standard, even if it’s mainly in the minds of the followers (as in not explicitly taught anymore, but everyone still learns it from each other; or it is explicitly taught but in a low-key way because they don’t actually expect anyone to follow tradition), rather than being totally committed to being truly counter culture and advocating for never policing a woman’s dress.
It’s really easy to think that something like harrassment doesn’t happen often when you haven’t seen it, but when you’re not the target, it’s not always obvious what’s happening. Women don’t always make a scene when they’re groped. Harassment can be whispered, or over texting, or by a boss. Every single time I was harassed in public school and youth group, there were other people around, but either no one happened to notice, no one thought it was bad enough to say anything, or people were too intimidated to step up.
Certainly it’s not just Christianity causing the problem, but you’d said Christianity teaches self-restraint and not victim-blaming, which is what I was responding to.
