Are Catholic women required to be beautiful?

[Bruised_Reed]

to look masculine. That means not swearing or making crude jokes,

This is really insulting to those who strive for masculinity.

not joining a construction crew, not joining a hockey team

Have you watched HGTV? There are lots of ladies who work in different areas of construction on those shows. How is hockey, whether field or ice, masculine versus other sports. Are basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse less masculine? How so?

not wearing heavy winter boots

Are you trolling again? Because a lot of these are kinda nuts.

 

[Tajho]

Oh my gosh ! You Australians are something else. And I thought only the US government wasted taxes on ridiculous ventures!

 

[Rozellelily]

Yep!
Apparently they’ve ended the campaign now because there was backlash.

"…Feeding the vicious cycle. Perpetuating the idea that you have to look amazing while participating in sport and physical activity. The slippery slope has her, and her audience, drowning in no time.

I don’t want girls to fall into that trap by trying to replicate those lifestyles. They aren’t real and they aren’t sustainable. Not for anyone. It will never equip them with the tools to get through the pressure of real life. We know this, so why as a society do we perpetuate it? Why is the government funding it?.."

'The government's Instagram influencer campaign was a mistake from the very start.'

Caroline Pemberton's open letter to Health Minister Greg Hunt.

www.mamamia.com.au

 

[Greenfields]

Hi Rozellelily ,am Australian also.I take my cues on femininity from my mother in particular ,and other older women that I really admire and appreciate .It doesn’t take much effort really ,and comes from within.

 

[Autumn-Smoke]

Here’s what St. Peter had to say in the matter:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

This is beauty in God’s opinion.

 

[Rozellelily]

Hello @Greenfields,

What did you learn from your mum?

 

[Rob2]

@Rozellelily , you ask “Are Catholic women required to be beautiful?”

Most definitely Yes .

And so are Catholic men .

“You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” ( 1 Peter 3:4 )

 

[Rhubarb]

Someday you’ll learn that physical beauty is the least important kind.

 

[Rozellelily]

True. Is this more about excessive focus on adornment though-eg:Kardashian type of women?
Unfortunately Peter is balanced with approximately 10 other bible passages about beauty and women like Genesis 6,Queen Esther,God gifting Job with beautiful daughters,Herodias’ Daughter,Abishag,Bathsheba,Rahab,
Mother Mary being depicted in paintings as beautiful (although I think these paintings are possible unrealistic and are idealisations as they ar from a European perspective).

Bible stories seem to suggest that the greatest accomplishment for a woman is to be beautiful.
It mentions women and beauty with a frequency that it’s hard to think is just coincidental.
I have come to accept that this is Gods way,but at the same time I don’t think God loves less beautiful women any less.

 

[AndrewAxland]

These types of topics I come across more on US based websites/blogs/US based writers.

Yes, “maculinity” and “femininity” are a particular obsession among conservative Christians in the US, including conservative Catholics. Usually goes hand in hand with strong anti-LGBT and anti-feminist attitudes.

 

[Rozellelily]

Inner beauty will always “trump” outer beauty imo.

 

[Greenfields]

To be gentle.
She must have worried at times when her daughters loved to be out on our sheep property drenching or crutching or whatever was needing doing with my dad,jobs less savoury than the ones mentioned.She told me recently how our local PP commented how feminine we were even though we worked hard with men.

 

[Theban]

So I’m just going to give my two cents on this, even though I’m not a woman.

I think it can be a good and pious thing to take care of one’s appearance, we are a temple to God after all, but it can also increase the risk of becoming vain and prideful. Still, ignoring your worldly beauty all together isn’t ideal either. I think it should be given some thought, but never a worry if that makes sense.

Also, in my personal opinion, just doing the very basic things, like having good hygiene, dressing well, exercising, etc. is all anyone really needs. Some people will look better than others of course, but I have yet to see someone I thought was ugly who weren’t at fault themselves through negligence.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Every child of God is beautiful.

 

[exnihilo]

Yes. Catholic women are required to be beautiful. They are required to have a beautiful soul. Inner beauty is far more important. Interestingly I find inner beauty makes a person far more beautiful on the outside as well.

 

[Lea101]

But the important thing is not to look masculine. That means not swearing or making crude jokes, not wearing dark lumberjack outfits, not making too many heavy sounds with your feet, not joining a construction crew, not joining a hockey team, not smoking, not drinking beer, not spitting, not using the men’s washroom, not sitting with your legs apart, not walking around topless in the summer, not wearing heavy winter boots. Of course, you may manage to get one of these things wrong in a given year, but that should be about it.

Saying that swearing/crude jokes is masculine is kind of awkward…we all should aim to avoid that. Hockey team, beer etc is fine. It almost sounds as if you’re trying to be satirical here.
It’s not a sin. Just unnecessary secular rules packaged into a spiritual/catholic disguise that appeals to women who are already prone to legalistic ways to relieve their anxieties about not being good enough

 

[friardchips]

Scripture does not say a lot of things explicitly that can be logically deduced.

 

[Lea101]

Catholics are taught about feminine genius,natural gender differences and that women should be feminine…but does this have to include beauty too?

From my understanding, the Church views beauty as good. A gift. But that doesn’t mean we are required to be beautiful. There’s actually theological discussions on beauty in general, but I find them dry.

If it makes you feel better, I look like a mess 99% of the time. I was born with a defect and basically not so attractive/eurocentric features. I try to look nice because obviously beautiful people have certain advantages but I highly doubt God cares if I applied mascara or not. Not that the fact that God doesn’t care about my looks magically makes me feel better, I tend to have a good self pitying cry once in a while (it sucks, really).

But we are not required to be physically beautiful. Some people are naturally that way and that’s good for them. I don’t think God planned how we look. Like I don’t think he decided to give me a sharp nose or whatever. He lets genetics do its thing I suppose (based on what we know about God and defects, disabilities etc, he doesn’t cause them).

 

[redbetta]

Honestly, people make out social media to be more relevant than it actually is. And those people are usually old farts. I’m 21 and have only made a Facebook account at 18 for the purposes of selling back textbooks to other students on my campus. Never done Twitter or Instagram. I see no need for it.

 

[LilyM]

I would suggest you prayerfully read Proverbs 31 - which outlines everything a Christian woman should be, including specifically not obsesed with outward beauty.

Remembering that God inspired it to be written for your guidance.

The world values many things - money, political power, sporting prowess. Paul tells us we are NOT to conform to the world.

Queen Esther was beautiful as was Salome. Their virtue lies not in their beauty - Salome used her beauty for a very ungodly purpose, after all.

Besides being beautiful, Esther had influence as the King’s favourite (and many equally beautiful did not). And the intelligence and courage to use that influence for good. Equally she might have been rich instead, and used that gift for good.

The intellugence and courage are far more important traits than mere beauty.