Modesty is Always Beautiful

Recently my sister-in-law Julie, took her little boys to Wal-Mart, she did her shopping and then approached the check out. Of course her eyes were drawn to the magazines, where the Cosmopolitan cover absolutely appalled her. The woman on the front was so scantily dressed, I’m not even sure you can refer to her as “dressed.” Julie said her first reaction was to turn the magazine over so that her little boys didn’t have to see this disgusting display. But the back was just as bad. Her next move was to take sweet Princess Kate who was on another cover and place it over all of the Cosmo magazines. She went through all of the check out aisles doing this. She felt a concern for every man and women walking through the store and being unwillingly exposed to pornography. Julie said that the last magazine to cover was in her own line, and there were two men that were there looking at the magazine. She said she didn’t want to make them feel ashamed by covering it up right in front of them, but she did it, and said, “That was for my boys.” They both looked at her and smiled with gratitude in their eyes. 

Once she got to the cashier she told her that the magazine was very offensive; she agreed and called the manager. He came and told Julie that there was nothing that they could do about it, to which she said, “If you wanted to, you could do something about it.” 

Later that day Julie called corporate Wal-Mart and talked to a very nice customer service agent that told her that the Cosmo magazine should ALWAYS be covered in every Wal-Mart (Remember this if you ever see it uncovered… Speak up!!). One thing that she found interesting is that every person that she talked to agreed that the photo on the cover was completely inappropriate. 

I have something to say to every Woman and girl. Pornography is a growing issue in our world. More and more men and boys are becoming addicted to pornography. It is a problem for some women as well. I recently had a class where we learned the physiological effects that pornography has on the brain. It is similar to a drug; releasing chemicals that make a person feel good. Pornography is a dangerous addiction just like that of smoking, alcohol or drugs, and can consume money, time, and harm healthy relationships.

What the speaker then said was an unnerving thought for me, “sometimes girls make themselves the pornography by the way they dress.” Can you imagine that by the way you meagerly dress or an inappropriate picture of you on your Facebook or otherwise available could cause some innocent young man to become addicted to pornography?! Think about it! 

As women we seek respect from men, but how can we demand respect from others if we don’t show that we respect ourselves enough to cover our bodies and feel secure in modest clothing. It is very disheartening when I go shopping with my husband and see young girls wearing the shortest shorts possible that their bum cheeks hang out, and backless shirts that don’t have much of a front either. What kind of message are we sending with the clothes that we wear? Are we helping those that struggle with pornography by covering up and dressing modestly? Are we keeping our boys and men free from impure thoughts by treating ourselves with respect first? 

I can see that the style is getting shorter, lower cut, and tighter. I also know that you can dress stylish and still be modest. 

My message goes back to my sister-in-law’s comment, “If you want to, you can do something about it.” This goes for anything that you feel needs “something done.” Even one person can make a difference. One girl can be a positive example to others by dressing modestly and one Mom can make a difference by teaching these principles to her daughters. My sister-in-law Julie made a difference by one simple phone call. We can all step up and do our best to make a difference in the world.