Anti-Glamour: Modest and Unprovocative

The photo at left comes from jumpinbloomers.com, a site advertising “modest clothing for girls of all ages.” This site is one of dozens listed at the Modest Clothing Directory. The girls in the photograph are darling, but, as with most children their age, their clothing choices were probably imposed upon them by their parents, and, in this case, by their religious community. This is a widespread practice. Under “creeds” the Modest Clothing Directory has the following categories: Islamic, Jewish, Latter Day Saints, Plain Simple Christian, Catholic, Trendy Modest Christian, and Messianic. (It’s a fascinating site.)

A few of the clothing sites listed there are not religious in nature, but nostalgic, particularly for 19th-century fashion. Those sites sometimes show slightly provocative, shoulder-baring gowns. But most sites feature clothing that conceals most of the female body. The rationale for this is often said to be modesty, partly in order to avoid the sin of pride—whether pride of hair, face, body, or even fancy clothing.

But it is worth noting that the “creeds” listed above are heavily patriarchal. I don’t question the religious sincerity of women who practice these faiths, but it is telling that the restrictions on their clothing come from traditions established by patriarchs. Thus it is likely that part of the purpose of concealing women’s bodily charms was to prevent men of the creed from being tempted by provocative women, but, more importantly, to try to insure that the women whom these men cared about personally would remain chaste or sexually faithful.

There is a biological reason for this concern. As David Buss writes in The Evolution of Desire:

Despite cultural variations, sexual fidelity tops the list of men’s long-term mate preferences. Although many men in Western culture cannot require virginity, they do insist on sexual loyalty. Even though birth control technology may render this mate preference unnecessary for its original function of ensuring paternity, the mate preference perseveres. A man does not relax his desire for fidelity in his wife just because she takes birth control pills.

Later he writes that:

Claustration, or the concealment of women to prevent their contact with potential sexual partners, provides a vivid example of mate monopolization.

Concealing women does not have to be as extreme as secluding women inside a dwelling, enclosing them in cloisters, or placing them under guard in a harem. “Veiling” can require women to conceal themselves in varying degrees, ranging from covering the entire body to only covering certain body parts, such as hair, legs, and shoulders. And the circumstances in which women are expected to veil their attractiveness can range in location from any public appearance to appearances at religious services. Even in modern Western cultures, a remnant of this tradition occurs when a bride veils her face during much of the wedding ceremony, and then lifts the veil to reveal herself to her husband. In a symbolic sense, she is promising to henceforth “lift her veil” for no one else. (The image shown here reveals that a burqa can create some sense of glamour and mystery by causing you to wonder if the rest of this young woman’s face is as beautiful as her eyes.)

Many modern teenage girls try to unveil themselves substantially sooner and more provocatively than their parents would like--a source of many arguments. Some schools, especially private and religious schools, try to use uniforms to rein in the provocative impulses of teenage girls, but those impulses remain. While on vacation in England one summer, my wife and I laughed as we passed a group of English schoolgirls headed home in their uniforms. These girls had discovered remarkably inventive ways to partially unbutton their white blouses and then tie them so as to display their shoulders or midriffs.

In Japan, where schoolgirls spend long hours in their uniforms, there have been whole fashion styles based on school clothing. The single most provocative outfit that I have seen on an American university campus was worn by a young Japanese coed, her long hair tied innocently to each side of her head in ponytails. Her white shirt bared her midriff, and was tied in front so as to reveal a vivid red bra. Her pleated plaid skirt was very short and slung so low on her hips so that a matching red thong was revealed above her skirt in front and back. Knee-high white socks and platform high heels completed the look, one  guaranteed to capture the attention of every male she encountered. (This interesting post warns other Japanese girls that wearing Japanese “schoolgirl” styles such garu and kogal, which are considered provocative but acceptable in Japan, can cause you to be mistaken for a prostitute in other countries, such as the United States.)

The couple pictured at left prove that even basic school uniforms can be made glamorous: notice the accessories, her skirt length, his pants cut, the stylish haircuts, loosened ties, and rolled up sleeves. Perhaps most humans have some innate desire to adorn themselves. If so, the patriarchal founders of austere religions may have correctly assumed that they could only suppress the desire of attractive women to display themselves proudly and advantageously if they could somehow convince them that doing so offended some kind of higher spiritual order.

That concept is certainly going to be a tough sell in modern urban centers like Tokyo. Not surprisingly, many of the suppliers listed in the Modest Clothing Directory are family businesses in rural communities. And here the title of the 1919 World-War-I song comes to mind: “How 'Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?).” Unless you partially shelter young women from contact with urban centers and modern media (or else deny them a choice of clothing), few young women are likely to choose prairie dresses or burqas over some form of more up-to-date apparel, even if they live in a small town. Yet, paradoxically, if you do need a prairie dress (even if just so your daughter can play Little House on the Prairie), the oh-so-modern internet allows you to find places like Our Grandma’s Closet, where a retired grandmother offers custom-made prairie dresses and donates her profits to charity.

["The Eyes Can See" by Tinou Bao, photostream here, under the Flickr Creative Common License. Young Japanese couple © glassbubblegum and used by permission. Her Flickr photostream is here.]

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