Before or After "What Not to Wear"

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (I Timothy 2:9-10)

 

          If yesterday’s politics was not enough, today’s topic is women’s behavior. This passage is one of the big reasons some people reject Paul, and even Christianity. How dare Paul or anyone else tell women how to dress or to be quiet and submissive? How dare anyone say that a woman isn’t just as able to teach as a man? How dare I defend this misogynist? Doing so makes me one of those sorts who believes women should be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen, doesn’t it? Where’s my hajib?

          Histrionics aside, let’s look at what is actually said. Women are to dress modestly, with decency and propriety. What is the alternative? To dress immodestly, indecently and improperly. I can’t say that the alternative is dressing like a prostitute, because it seems to me that dressing like a hooker is everyday attire for lots of women. They claim they aren’t ashamed of their bodies, and to prove it, they dress like the “before” pictures from the show, “What Not To Wear.”

          Of course, it’s not all about clothes. There are all the accessories. Paul says we’re not to dress with braided hair and jewelry. A quick check on the Internet says that an average updo costs $50-60. That’s three or four hours at a $15.00 per hour wage. Tanning can cost $20 per session unless you have the time to go lie out. Tattoos tend to cost at least $75 per hour to create. Fake nails can cost almost as much. Don’t even ask about jewelry. I sold it for three years. I had customers who thought nothing of spending thousands of dollars. They had rings for every finger and thumb, and they weren’t dainty rings, and multiple earrings for each ear. They wanted the biggest, boldest, brightest necklaces and bracelets. It cost them thousands of dollars.

That’s just the money. Consider how much time it takes to keep up this appearance? Then there’s make up. I have friends who work wonders with makeup. They’re true artists, but it costs a fortune and takes a long time to work that magic. What else could be done with the money or time? To make matters worse, how practical is all of that stuff? When you are all done up, how active can you be? I’ve seem women trying to function with the nails. It’s funny.

          The whole point of all this expense and time is to look good – better than the next woman. “Look at me! Respond to me! Approve of me. Appreciate me. Make me feel special!” it says, but we can’t because you’re hidden behind all the stuff.  It’s all about looking like you don’t have to work for a living, which means that for most of us, it’s all about lying.

          Now, I use makeup and nail polish. My hair is getting long enough that braids and putting it up are not only possible, but necessary. I prefer to not to look as if I am an advertisement, a product for sale, or a resident of a dumpster.  In other words, I prefer to look like a respectable, decent human being who thinks more about looking good to God than she does about manipulating other people.