On Modesty and Objectification:
Thoughts taken from a Facebook post, written by guest blogger Gabriel Hudelson:
On the objectification of women...
I recently read a blog post about how, in short and brutal summation, girls should feel free from the legalisms of the modesty movement and guys need to get their thoughts under control and stop blaming and objectifying women.
And I agree. Sort of.
Guys, we do need to take responsibility for our eyes and our thoughts. We don't have the freedom to blame Eve here. Jesus didn't say "if any man looks at a woman to lust after her then she really should have put more clothes on." The truth of the matter is, brothers, that a lustful heart and mind *will lust*. Regardless of the attire (or lack thereof) of the object of lust, "the eyes of man are never satisfied." (Pr. 27:20)
Furthermore, we have no right to take our opinion and preach it as Gospel. "Thou shalt not wear pants." "Thou shalt not wear sleeveless shirts." "She is wearing a skirt that reveals a fragment of her KNEECAP. AAAAAAAAUUUUGHHH. MY PURITY IS MELTING OUT OF MY EARS. VILE SINNER!!!!!!!!"
Or something like that.
We may preach Biblical principle as doctrine... and that is all. Principles of Scripture like gender distinctions (Deut. 22:5), modest apparel (1 Tim. 2:9- and this specifically has to do with ostentatiousness, not just the display of flesh), and the need to cover nakedness (Genesis 3, Leviticus 18) can- and should- all be applied. And we can look, too, at practical examples given in Scripture- for example, the baring of the thigh is shameful (Isaiah 47:2).
But girls should not feel burdened by the rules of man- only blessed by the rules of God.
That said... ladies... sisters... please hear me on this. Just because a guy is prone to look at revealed female form and flesh doesn't mean that he is a woman-objectifying pervert. It actually means he's normal. God wired us that way. (If he keeps looking, or starts thinking things he shouldn't, *then* he has stepped into sin.)
The female form is like a magnet to our eyes. Even in the form of a pencil drawing or a poster. And that is a beautiful, wonderful thing, within the context of marriage!
(And actually it's not entirely a guy thing- it's also a rules-of-art thing; my Mom did an experiment once where she showed a group of women two pictures- a professionally dressed woman in a skirt, and a professionally dressed woman in pants- and she asked the women what caught their eyes. Even from a photographic composition standpoint, regardless of actual physical attraction, leading lines guide the eyes.)
So. Guys are responsible for loving girls as people, looking at them as friends and embodied souls and not just bodies. But girls... if you want a Godly guy to notice your face and personality and to talk to you as another person instead of spending the conversation trying... not... to look...
We appreciate the help.
Christian guys need to be told to take responsibility for their own thoughts. But they do not need saddled with guilt for being wired like men, just like Christian girls don't need saddled with guilt for not following man-made legalisms.
The blog post that I read also mentioned how girls feel shamed of their bodies because of modesty culture. And I think that's sad, and a misunderstanding of what the concept of modesty is all about.
Modesty is not about hiding the body as a secret or a shame, but as a treasure.
I wouldn't walk down the street waving all of my cash savings around in the air and displaying the stuff in my safe to strangers… Not because I'm ashamed of it, but because I value it.
And if a stranger grabbed the wad of cash out of my hand, he would be fully responsible for his actions… And, yet... I certainly didn't help things.
~Thoughts shared from a Facebook post of today's guest blogger, Gabriel Hudelson~
You can read more from Gabriel on his blog.
On the objectification of women...
I recently read a blog post about how, in short and brutal summation, girls should feel free from the legalisms of the modesty movement and guys need to get their thoughts under control and stop blaming and objectifying women.
And I agree. Sort of.
Guys, we do need to take responsibility for our eyes and our thoughts. We don't have the freedom to blame Eve here. Jesus didn't say "if any man looks at a woman to lust after her then she really should have put more clothes on." The truth of the matter is, brothers, that a lustful heart and mind *will lust*. Regardless of the attire (or lack thereof) of the object of lust, "the eyes of man are never satisfied." (Pr. 27:20)
Furthermore, we have no right to take our opinion and preach it as Gospel. "Thou shalt not wear pants." "Thou shalt not wear sleeveless shirts." "She is wearing a skirt that reveals a fragment of her KNEECAP. AAAAAAAAUUUUGHHH. MY PURITY IS MELTING OUT OF MY EARS. VILE SINNER!!!!!!!!"
Or something like that.
We may preach Biblical principle as doctrine... and that is all. Principles of Scripture like gender distinctions (Deut. 22:5), modest apparel (1 Tim. 2:9- and this specifically has to do with ostentatiousness, not just the display of flesh), and the need to cover nakedness (Genesis 3, Leviticus 18) can- and should- all be applied. And we can look, too, at practical examples given in Scripture- for example, the baring of the thigh is shameful (Isaiah 47:2).
But girls should not feel burdened by the rules of man- only blessed by the rules of God.
That said... ladies... sisters... please hear me on this. Just because a guy is prone to look at revealed female form and flesh doesn't mean that he is a woman-objectifying pervert. It actually means he's normal. God wired us that way. (If he keeps looking, or starts thinking things he shouldn't, *then* he has stepped into sin.)
The female form is like a magnet to our eyes. Even in the form of a pencil drawing or a poster. And that is a beautiful, wonderful thing, within the context of marriage!
(And actually it's not entirely a guy thing- it's also a rules-of-art thing; my Mom did an experiment once where she showed a group of women two pictures- a professionally dressed woman in a skirt, and a professionally dressed woman in pants- and she asked the women what caught their eyes. Even from a photographic composition standpoint, regardless of actual physical attraction, leading lines guide the eyes.)
So. Guys are responsible for loving girls as people, looking at them as friends and embodied souls and not just bodies. But girls... if you want a Godly guy to notice your face and personality and to talk to you as another person instead of spending the conversation trying... not... to look...
We appreciate the help.
Christian guys need to be told to take responsibility for their own thoughts. But they do not need saddled with guilt for being wired like men, just like Christian girls don't need saddled with guilt for not following man-made legalisms.
The blog post that I read also mentioned how girls feel shamed of their bodies because of modesty culture. And I think that's sad, and a misunderstanding of what the concept of modesty is all about.
Modesty is not about hiding the body as a secret or a shame, but as a treasure.
I wouldn't walk down the street waving all of my cash savings around in the air and displaying the stuff in my safe to strangers… Not because I'm ashamed of it, but because I value it.
And if a stranger grabbed the wad of cash out of my hand, he would be fully responsible for his actions… And, yet... I certainly didn't help things.
~Thoughts shared from a Facebook post of today's guest blogger, Gabriel Hudelson~
You can read more from Gabriel on his blog.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)