Christian patriarchy and modesty

I'm hoping that this post will sum up what I think about modesty culture in Christianity so that I never have to talk about it again.

I came across an article online written by a male pastor, entitled "The Theology of Yoga Pants." Just from the title, and from the fact that it was written by a man, I could tell that it was going to be pejorative toward women. Let me dissect some parts of this article.

The article early on claims that "Everything you wear says something about who you are and what is in your heart." Does it really, though? So when I wear a plain blue V-Neck, what does that say about my heart? When I choose to wear sweats instead of jeans, is that really indicative of what's going on in my heart? Or does this statement only apply to women and not to men?

It then moves into a section where it talks about how men look at women. "Whether he is young or old he has to constantly deny those sinful desires and seek to honor the Lord with his mind. If you love your brother in Christ and do not want him to see you or think of you in a way less than holy..." These sentences highlight a frequent trend in Christian culture: women are seen as responsible for men's lustful thoughts. There is an underlying assumption--but Christian men will deny it--that men's lustful desires are totally uncontrollable, and that women are the triggers to releasing these thoughts. It completely puts the blame on women for things that men should take responsibility for. Men are the ones that are accountable for their own lustful thoughts, not women. Rather than blaming women for their own problems, Christian men should instead work to change their thought processes and thereby stop oppressing women.

Next, the article asserts that when women wear more revealing clothes, they are donning a sign that says, "For Sale: Cheap." "If you’re dressing in a way that is immodest, would you consider that you are inviting men to think about you in a sexual way?" Um, no, that's not the case. Here's a thought: maybe women want to wear certain clothes because they like the way they look or feel? Let's not assume that women have malicious motives, such as that they wear certain clothes because they are trying to seduce men.

"According to the Bible, this [sexual] way of thinking should be reserved for your husband." Where does it say that, exactly? Also, this is another funny thing that Christians do. They enforce the idea that having sexual thoughts is completely sinful until marriage, after which these thoughts are totally acceptable. Why does marriage suddenly make thoughts okay that were previously considered inappropriate? Are they somehow purified within the context of marriage?

And then the article ends with a list of do's and don't's. Yay, we are given easy rules to follow, because Christian life so simple that we can reduce it to such a list.

This article is filled with so much patriarchal oppression of women, it disgusts me. And the unfortunate reality is that that kind of thinking is rampant in Christian culture. It really sucks that the modesty talk for girls is laden with male oppression.