Articles
The Epidemic of Public Nakedness
Over the past several years our society has become increasingly coarse. Exhibit A: An explosion of extreme profanity by politicians, pundits, athletes, corporate-types – basically anybody behind a public microphone.
Exhibit B: Raunchy language has been augmented by graphic exposure of primarily female bodies from Walmart to the White House, from Main Street to the Red Carpet, from school bus stops to JLo at the WorldPride concert last weekend in D.C. Age matters not; older models and starlets – even 83 year-old Martha Stewart – have stripped for publicity. Innocuous internet game sites post ads with voluptuous images or other sensuous female features. Sports programming features ads that are borderline pornographic.
As a red-blooded male who grew up in a Florida beach community, I am something of an “expert” on the impact public nudity has on men. But in the article reprinted below, I wanted to highlight what exposing oneself to the public says about the women who do it. I do NOT agree with everything said in the article but felt the overall point was worth consideration. It is not based on Scripture per se, though the observations are consistent with Biblical standards. Rather, it champions human dignity, modesty, public decorum and common sense.
***
“I don’t have a problem with ladies showing their cleavages. I don’t lose sleep over seeing thighs, hips, or even laps out in public. I’m not on a mission to police women’s clothing. Here’s where I draw the line: when you get angry at being addressed the same way you’ve presented yourself.
“The way you dress is a silent statement. It speaks before you open your mouth. It tells the world how to see you, how to treat you, and sometimes, wrongly or rightly, how to approach you.
“You can’t come out looking like an invitation and expect everyone to treat you like a locked gate. You can’t present your body as public property and get offended when people forget it’s sacred.
“Your dress is not just fabric, it’s identity. The way you carry your body says a lot about how you see yourself. And unfortunately, in a world full of predators and pretense, your body language is sometimes louder than your actual words.
“When you know who you are you dress with purpose, not just for attention. People who know their worth don’t need to beg for validation with their body parts. Royalties don’t go around naked. You’ll never see a queen walking into a palace with her breasts half out or her thighs exposed to the world. Because royalty knows this truth: ‘I am not for show; I am for impact.’
“You dress for where you're going, not where you've been. You dress for the throne, not for the street. You don’t throw diamonds into the open and expect flies to stay away.
“This is not about judgment. This is about awakening. Here’s the hard truth: If you don’t know your worth, you’ll always take advice that reduces it. If you don’t know your identity, the world will give you a cheap version – and dress you for the part.
“Let this sink deep: You are not a plate of food for flies. You are not a body begging for likes. You are not a mannequin for fashion trends that discard dignity.
“You are a woman of substance, a queen in her lane, a lady of legacy. And queens don’t expose themselves for approval. They carry themselves with quiet confidence, knowing full well that the right eyes will see them not just the loud ones.
“I’m not shaming you. I’m calling you higher. I’m reminding you that dressing modestly is not a weakness; it’s awareness. And until you know the weight of your presence, you’ll keep reducing it to skin-deep impressions. Let your clothes speak purpose ... be clothed in dignity, not desperation. Let your image reflect your identity not your insecurity.
“Once you know who you are, you’ll never again need to undress to be noticed.”
Kathryn Esther Clement
***
Of course, from a Biblical standpoint we would add that a woman has a responsibility to not put a stumbling block or cause to sin in another’s way (Rom 14:7, 13, 15, 19, 21 [I realize these verses address lawful behaviors that lead the weak to violate their conscience, but if the concepts apply to such matters, they would apply more so to behaviors that are overtly sinful – like public nudity]; see also Mt 18:6-9). Nudity before one’s husband is approved of God, for what it produces is considered by God honorable and undefiled (Heb 13:4). But indiscriminately inciting the lusts and passions of total strangers places a woman in the category of rank harlotry – minus the consummation of the sex act itself. By stoking the sexual urges of a man and encouraging him to focus on her body, such a woman has revealed what truly resides in her heart (cf. Mt 15:18-20).
The author touches on the lack of self-respect that drives a woman to incite men to think of her only in a sexual context. She refers to desperation, insecurity, begging for “likes,” attention, worth, an “invitation,” etc. One astute observation: “You can’t present your body as public property and get offended when people forget it’s sacred.” It is quite obvious to a man when a woman has (un)dressed, coifed and applied makeup so that she might be noticed. But that same woman would likely ignore or even berate the man who accepts her invitation and gawks at her beauty. Clement says you can’t have it both ways: if you present yourself as a hunk of meat, you are going to draw flies. Public nudity is a misguided cry for attention, but the kind it generates is unworthy of a woman’s true value.
