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(Controversial content) a letter to girls in the pew in front of us...


Joanne
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What a depressing little piece. Good job girls, you're just pretty enough to draw men to church and not so wanton looking that you tempt them from God. Textbook objectification in a smug little package.

 

She wasn't exactly kind to the man, either.

 

Methinks somebody could do with a bit of soul searching about judging others.

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Whatever problems the boy was having, they are his problems and should not be blamed on the women/girls around him presenting potential "distractions." The girls in the pew in front of them deserve no credit, any more than if they'd been dressed differently they'd be blameworthy for the young man's hangups or spiritual tight spot.

 

Ugh.

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We don't need to know the boy. If he was there to think lustful thoughts about girls he didn't need them to be dressed in provocative clothes, did he?

 

Poppy is right. This author still believed in the moral authority of churchgoers to objectify girls. The fact that they passed muster on this one occasion doesn't change the fact that they don't exist to be evaluated on whether or not they are likely to tempt males.

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Ugh. I'm a Christian and this is what bothers me about church.

 

I was about to say I can't put my finger on quite what it is that bothers me about it, but I just realized it's because there are SO MANY things than I can't pin it down to which one is the most troublesome.

 

Edit: And I'm sure that for the 100th time this summer, this is probably about to blow up my facebook newsfeed and make me consider deleting a whole bunch of my "friends". Although perhaps not, since last time I actually followed through on that desire.

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Whatever problems the boy was having, they are his problems and should not be blamed on the women/girls around him presenting potential "distractions." The girls in the pew in front of them deserve no credit, any more than if they'd been dressed differently they'd be blameworthy for the young man's hangups or spiritual tight spot.

 

Ugh.

 

Yes! If they get credit for his purity they'd also have to get blame for his impurity. The latter is screwed up; therefore, so is the former.

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Translation:

 

"Dear girls, the most important thing about you is how you look, especially how you look in what you wear. I'm so very glad that you allowed male gaze and body shame to govern your clothing choices this morning. It's good for everyone (and by "everyone" I mean men) that you know how to be properly worldly. Something about seeing that kind of cultural conformity and subordination is soothing to the church (I mean men).

 

PS, for hetero males, attraction to women is obviously rooted in sexuality, but it's very good that your particular look lets them feel attraction without experiencing the pseudo-religious shame of admitting that it is sexual. I'm sure everyone (men) including my friend feels the same.

 

PPS, I want to touch you. Don't worry about it."

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Excuse me. I need to go brush my teeth. Where's the vomiting smilie?

 

This woman is assuming a lot. About the women and the man she assumed was in church to scam on girls?

Well, this is disgusting, but I got the impression that it was her son with all the praying she had been doing for him. I gathered that he wouldn't usually go, but was doing it for her this one time.

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Control, slut shaming, and misogyny wrapped in evangelical "gratitude."

 

Yeah! What a backhanded, condescending compliment! "Yo, hot girls in the pew in front of me: You are so hot. You don't dress like tramps to cheapen how hot you are. Most people look at the skin for hot, but I get off on thinking about what a modest, good, obedient wife you might one day be." [/pant pant pant]

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Yuck. I clicked on that too. What I found really weird about that is that she was hurrying to get dressed to answer the door for Mr. M, then she refers to him as her husband?!? Why was her husband at the door?!?

I thought the same thing - that one didn't make sense at all.

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Unless the "man in question" was a child molester with a penchant for young teenaged girls, that letter is completely idiotic.

 

I know the woman was trying to be kind, and I don't question her sincerity, but I hate the perception that those girls would have been less religious or less worthy of respect in any way had they been dressed differently or worn more makeup.

 

And let's not forget that she is also assuming tremendous weakness on the part of the man.

 

Judgmental all around.

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These kind of things make me want to teach my girls to not be modest, LOL....

 

Our town is gearing up for Secret Keeper Girls conference and many of our friends are attending. I've been able to skirt the topic for the most part but it makes me feel icky...just like this article. Watch the dang sermon woman and stop passing judgement!

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I think her intention was to be kind. She probably has no idea that she is being judgmental, because she seems to truly buy into the whole modesty thing.

The correct response to her sincerity is "bless her hearrrrrrrrt!" Well, in GA...those words would be uttered from my lips :p

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These kind of things make me want to teach my girls to not be modest, LOL....

 

Our town is gearing up for Secret Keeper Girls conference and many of our friends are attending. I've been able to skirt the topic for the most part but it makes me feel icky...just like this article. Watch the dang sermon woman and stop passing judgement!

 

I don't have daughters but I'm answering this anyway. :p (I have four sons.)

 

I grew up in the 70s and 80s in a small town that was heavily populated by conservative Christian denominations. Mainstream but conservative, I should say. Modesty for girls and women was a big deal, even at public school, but not as big a deal as I'm seeing in fundy organizations today and homeschool groups are the worst. I just point out my background to say that an emphasis on modesty was a major part of my upbringing, lest anybody think I don't know anything about it or never believed in it. I do, and I did. I don't hold this as a religious tenet anymore but I personally dress very modestly out of preference.

 

I think the misogynist music that is so popular and the control of girls' appearance in churches and homeschool groups are two sides of the same coin. I think both objectify girls to an alarming degree. Both teach them that they are only sex objects and their weakness and power are both directly related to the way men perceive their sexuality. The former leaves them thinking their only value is in seeming sexy to males. The latter hauls God and guilt into the equation.

 

What a terrifying scenario! Let's just create victims. Let's just let lights be blown out as we teach our girls to please all the people. :(

 

So if I had daughters, the first thing I'd do is jettison that coin. Beyonce's music and Ladies Against Feminism, thrown into the garbage, at the same time because they are the same thing.

 

The next thing I'd do would be to raise my girls to believe in themselves so that their self-worth doesn't hinge on whether they are sexy or whether they are buttoned up. I'd raise them to be pretty sure that nobody in their universe has any right to comment or to have an opinion on the topic. Girls would be in charge of their own bodies and their own clothing choices. Respect for dress codes for work and school -- yes, if they are reasonable and equal. Conformity to a wardrobe to please someone other than herself -- no. And help her find her voice to tell them all to jump in the lake, and the confidence to find better friends.

 

I'd be willing to risk some ridiculous concoctions by little girls or some indecency in big girls as they find their own way. I think that's part of the growing-up process. We live in a society where a girl can wear her underwear out in public and be mainstream about it, so there was never a better time to experiment. I'd remove my daughters from groups who judge creative expression in appearance, just as I removed my young sons from people who thought little boys ought to be silent and motionless all the time.

 

I hope I'd teach appropriate clothing for situations, from choosing less eye-popping ensembles for church to wearing swimsuits at the beach because that's appropriate. Swimsuits that fit and are comfortable based on body type and preference, which does mean that some girls need bikinis! Where do we wear bikinis? At the beach. Do we wear bikinis to Walmart? No. Are we sluts if we do wear them to Walmart? No, we just don't have much sense. That's not the same thing.

 

Thanks for listening to a rant from a mother of boys who is very concerned about the climate for girls today. I'm concerned about my daughters-in-law and my granddaughters. I want them to be strong, and good, and not judged by their sexiness quotient all the time.

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What the heck?!? I can't believe anyone said this with a straight face:

 

"I like those pants. I like them because not only are they comfortable – as all yoga pants are – but I look trendy. I look like one of those suburban moms with a ponytail, pushing her children through the market in a twin-seat stroller. And I like that look, regardless of the consequences."

 

Wait a minute! The new object of lustful thoughts is some mom of toddlers who didn't have time to wash her hair or energy to choose something other than the daytime pajamas??? This is so many shades of crazy!

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Unless the "man in question" was a child molester with a penchant for young teenaged girls, that letter is completely idiotic.

 

I know the woman was trying to be kind, and I don't question her sincerity, but I hate the perception that those girls would have been less religious or less worthy of respect in any way had they been dressed differently or worn more makeup.

 

And let's not forget that she is also assuming tremendous weakness on the part of the man.

 

Judgmental all around.

 

I'm all for modesty, and I do think *some* women dress immodestly for attention and enjoy the effect they have on men, but the article did kinda "dumb men down"... I didn't think men were so weak until reading that??  Can they really not look the other way if someone is dressed immodestly and it causes a problem for them?  It would be interesting to get a man's perspective on that.  What type of yoga pants are these women wearing?  Can men not look at ballerinas?  Olympic swimmers?  A man has a problem if a woman can't dress in a leotard.  That's unfair.  Again, I am all for modesty, but the man is responsible for his thoughts, too.

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Yuck. I clicked on that too. What I found really weird about that is that she was hurrying to get dressed to answer the door for Mr. M, then she refers to him as her husband?!? Why was her husband at the door?!?

I agree. I have seen that piece a few times and never could figure out their relationship
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