Clothing in western (European) society changed very little for hundreds of years. The last century saw incredibly radical changes in ‘societal’ definitions of modesty. . .and the fruits of those changes. . .look at the objectification of women, the incredible proliferation of eating disorders, poor self esteem, the sexualization of children. Yes, these things ‘existed’ in the world before the mini skirt. . .but they have skyrocketed and are being seen by many now not even as problems. What we call ‘objectifying’ women they call “giving the woman power” or ‘recognizing woman’s sexuality.’ Every time we bring up anorexia and bulimia’s effects, we get told how ‘obese’ Americans are anyway. Poor self esteem isn’t blamed on women trying to look like airbrushed models but on the “puritan thinking” that supposedly represses these women and is the real reason they aren’t gracing the latest Cosmo cover. And the people who scream at the ‘pedophile priests’ don’t even blink when their 4 year olds sashay in wearing midriff shirts proudly proclaiming, “Hottie”.
For all the supposed freedom we women are supposed to get from wearing pants to wearing the latest hooker duds, what did we get? My generation (now 50) were told we could 'bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and do it all". What did we wind up with? Most of us wound up with much more difficult marriages than our parents had. . . and those are the ones who managed to keep the family together. A lot of us wound up divorced single parents, scorned and sneered at, castigated by men and women alike, finding men being ‘conditioned’ to be selfish because, “hey, the woman wants to be in charge, let her --I’m off to greener pastures” and the women to be inimical “we don’t want you competing, so we’ll try to keep you feeling down because we want to be on top and have it all even though we see it doesn’t work for most. . .but we’d rather blame you than acknowledge society was wrong and this ‘have it all’ is wrong for both men AND women.”
And as we age we find that unless we’ve got the body of Cher that a simple and modest dress is actually more comfortable and flattering than those jeans we ‘lived in’ for decades. But boy, those modest dresses are hard to find. So many of us are relearning, or indeed learning, as a lot of us never bothered with the ‘domestic arts’ that were frowned on by the more vocal feminists most of us heard. . .to sew. We’re reclaiming our heritage as women. . .as CREATORS, as home-makers, without apologizing or feeling that ‘woman’s work’ was somehow LESSER than manly work.
Careers? Oh please. The average woman who works outside the home (and has children under 18 at home) works part-time, and doesn’t really get anywhere near a living wage. Plus, she has to make arrangements to have her OWN children cared for in order to do this glorious ‘paid’ work.
Now, for those woman who have satisfying careers, earn a decent wage, have excellent child care available, supportive spouses, etc. . . more power to them. I’m not going to tell them to quit. Society has always had women in this position–they used to be royalty, then nobility, etc. But there are a lot more women who are doing jobs they don’t particularly enjoy, and getting little satisfaction. . .while furthermore losing out in their own family lives. . .and there are a lot of men who have been made to feel miserable whether they ‘support’ their wife working outside the home or not. Just because they aren’t out there ‘pledging their faith’ to the Lord of the manor doesn’t mean they’re any more ‘free’; they have as much ‘tie’ to their employer as many villians did to their lord! Men who feel that no matter what they do, they aren’t really ‘important’ to their families and who are therefore much more inclined to walk away because, “She’s working, she can take care of them.”
Well, this didn’t all come about because of clothing changes. . .but clothing changes are a reflection of a society attitude that is I truly feel much less healthy than in the so-called ‘olden days’, especially when it comes to the area of modesty. . .and so the huge proliferation of immodest behavior, including immodest dress, is a symptom of society’s great illness that we should not be ignoring.
Remember, guys, dresses just below the knee, with elbow length sleeves, and high necklines, do NOT mean “Amish style.” Turn on TCM and look for a 1940s or 1950s movie. . .those women are NOT “AMISH style”. Far from it! A woman could be decently dressed and look downright alluring (yet modest). Doris Day, for example, Jackie Kennedy in her pillbox hat and suit. . .were wearing modest clothing that was current, stylish, and fashionable. So please, please, stop trotting out the old “do you want women dressing like Amish women?”. . the answer is NO. . .women can look modest and FASHIONABLE (even 2009 fashionable) and still confirm to the standards of the writing in the OP.
Oh and then we can get into the bathing suit wars. I love the suits that are cotton dresses with bike shorts underneath and are much uglier than anything the Victorians ever wore! :tanning: