“God will see you get the rape you deserve!” this is a
phrase heard regularly on the campus of the school where I serve as chaplain.
One of the male students feels he is compelled by God to inform female students
when their dress is immodest to a point that they deserve the consequences of
the lust they are eliciting from the men around them. This is the consequence of a certain theory of
why we should be modest.The theory is that the reason a person should be modest in dress is so that they do not evoke the lust of those around them. That it is my duty to wear a certain type of clothing so that those around me will not have cause to think of me as a sexual being, thus will not be lead to impure thoughts or
What this theory does is blame individuals for the lust they
elicit, and the consequences of that lust. Now the way it is normally phrased
is as an act of good will, of sacrificing a bit of personal expression to keep
those around us from falling off the path of righteousness. Such capacity does
not, however, work only one way. If I am responsible for helping maintain an
atmosphere around me that is lustless then I am also responsible for when my
dress creates an atmosphere that is lustful. If I am to be championed for
aiding in other’s not entering into lust then I am to be rejected for when I
aid in causing another, outside of very restricted situations, to lust. If I am
allowed to take responsibility for aiding others in abstaining from lust then I
must also take responsibility for aiding others in obtaining lust, and the
consequences of those lust… even if that lust results in my harassment, rape,
or murder.
So we have those who sexually harass and abuse those around them, like the preacher on my campus, feel they are free to do so because by the way a woman decides to dress they assume they are given some form of consent. We have students on campus encountering sexual violence because a certain form of immodest dress is construed to be an open invitation for lust, and acting upon that lust. So we have trials where what an individual was wearing at the time they were raped is gone over in minute detail, as if that was the key to understanding consent.
So we have victims of harassment and rape feeling that they are to blame for their perpetrators actions, not coming forward, and not receiving the vital help we need.
There are other reasons why this theory for modesty is bogus. Instead of seeking for people to responsibly and maturely understand their sexuality and desires and bring them into a healthy and fulfilling fruition it asks them to repress and stunt their sexuality and desires to a place of attrition; a pressing point for further consideration. Instead of responding to actual research on the nature of attraction and sexual desire it presupposes conditions that do not have a natural basis; an inherent flaw for any theory that wishes to stand as reasonable. The point of this post, however, is simply to express the horrors that result when individuals are held responsible, on account of their dress, for controlling the amount of lust held by those around them.
There are reasons to dress in what can be considered modest dress. There ways to properly structure our lives so that we are both aware of sexuality and desires but not abusing them. The theory that modesty is important so that we control the lust of those around them, and are responsible for their consequences, simply is not one of them.
So we have those who sexually harass and abuse those around them, like the preacher on my campus, feel they are free to do so because by the way a woman decides to dress they assume they are given some form of consent. We have students on campus encountering sexual violence because a certain form of immodest dress is construed to be an open invitation for lust, and acting upon that lust. So we have trials where what an individual was wearing at the time they were raped is gone over in minute detail, as if that was the key to understanding consent.
So we have victims of harassment and rape feeling that they are to blame for their perpetrators actions, not coming forward, and not receiving the vital help we need.
There are other reasons why this theory for modesty is bogus. Instead of seeking for people to responsibly and maturely understand their sexuality and desires and bring them into a healthy and fulfilling fruition it asks them to repress and stunt their sexuality and desires to a place of attrition; a pressing point for further consideration. Instead of responding to actual research on the nature of attraction and sexual desire it presupposes conditions that do not have a natural basis; an inherent flaw for any theory that wishes to stand as reasonable. The point of this post, however, is simply to express the horrors that result when individuals are held responsible, on account of their dress, for controlling the amount of lust held by those around them.
There are reasons to dress in what can be considered modest dress. There ways to properly structure our lives so that we are both aware of sexuality and desires but not abusing them. The theory that modesty is important so that we control the lust of those around them, and are responsible for their consequences, simply is not one of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment