This should be interesting.
Yes, and I'm almost 100% sure it's going to offend some people. You see, today I'm going to talk about modesty. Now, I'm LDS, so you may be expecting me to quote the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet, or something, but I actually have a very different view on modesty than most Mormons. For example, I do not care if some twelve-year-old is wearing booty shorts and a tank top because it's hot outside. And if you're thinking, "Well, what about the men that are going to see that and have immoral thoughts because of her immodesty," I will direct you to this blog, which explains my view point on that perfectly. If you are too lazy to click on it, let me just say, if a man is unable to control his thoughts because a little girl is dressed immodestly, he has some things he needs to work on. It has never been and it will never be women's responsibility to control the thoughts of men.
I'm just going to dive right in and talk about nudity. First of all, I think naked people are gorgeous. The human body is incredible. I actually am so inspired when I look at naked people. Don't laugh, and don't you dare assume it's for some perverted reason. I believe naked bodies are a work of art in themselves. I once found a portfolio a photographer had created of naked women. Each woman was unique. Some were fat, some skinny, some tall, some short, some old, some young, some black, some white. All of them were sitting in completely normal poses, like you would while you're talking to a friend or watching tv. They would bend over so their rolls would show, sometimes they'd grab their tummy and laugh, and some were so skinny, they had no rolls, but they pointed to their ribs. The point of the portfolio was to show that women's bodies, no matter the shape or size, are beautiful. It really affected me and made me appreciate my body more because it has its own unique curves, rolls, and moles. Another place I love to look at naked people is the sculpture gallery in the National Art Museum. It's just full of naked statues. In fact, I doubt there's a fully clothed statue in there. The artists knew the body so well; everything is in proportion, the muscles and bones are considered, and the positions they are in reflect the stance of an actual person. I am always inspired when I spend a day in that museum.
I have to say, I do not find naked people offensive in the least. Now, if some of you are thinking, "Isn't nudity pornographic?" I'm going to direct you to some key points in understanding the human body. First, nudity and pornography are not the same. Yes, nudity is used in pornography, and yes, to a mind that is prone to immoral thoughts, nudity can be pornography. But a naked person does not automatically mean pornography. If you just look up the definition of pornography, you can see how nudity is not pornography: "Pornography is intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings." Nudity can create aesthetic or emotional feelings, as demonstrated in my experiences above. Second, the human body is not evil. There is nothing bad, wrong, or evil with any parts of our body. I believe that our bodies were created by God, and he never put an evil part on us. My mom taught me this when I came home from school one day upset because a kid told me my middle finger was a bad word. She sad that Heavenly Father did not give us any bad fingers. The same goes for the rest of our body. Finally, do you know who wants you to think that our bodies are evil? Satan. Seriously. The LDS are taught that Satan was not allowed a body because he rebelled against God. He is miserable because of it, and misery loves company. He loves to convince us that our bodies are somehow bad or not good enough, whether its through low self-esteem or jealousy.
Despite the fact that the LDS are taught this, while I lived in Utah I honestly felt like my body was unnatural or disgusting somehow, which I believe was partially because of the attitude that many LDS have. I lived in Utah from the time I was eleven up to the summer before my seventeenth birthday. Before I lived in Utah, I honestly never thought about modesty. This is probably because I was eleven, but I noticed that in Utah there seemed to be this hyper sensitivity to immodesty. I was told not to wear lace because it made men think of lingerie. I was told that I needed to stand in front of a mirror and scrutinize my outfit to make sure no skin that might inspire immoral thoughts in boys was showing. I was told that it was okay and expected for a boy to refuse to go on a date with me if he thought I was immodest. By the time I was fifteen, I hated my body. It didn't seem to conform to these standards. I've been 5' 10" and a double D since I was fifteen. Even those Down East Basics shirts that are supposed to help with modesty would give me cleavage. I pretty much have to wear a turtle neck to avoid cleavage. My long legs made it very difficult to find skirts that didn't show my mid thigh when I bent over. I was obsessive about staying modest, but in my mind, it was never enough. This terror that a boy could think bad thoughts about me led me to believe that my body was somehow bad. Eventually, we moved to Virginia where things got better. I had many very open minded friends that weren't afraid to tell me how innocent and prim I was. I realized that it was okay that I had cleavage sometimes and that my skirts sometimes went above my knees. It wasn't because I suddenly had a rebellious desire to be raunchily sexy. I just realized that I was naturally kinda freakin' sexy, and that was okay. I also realized that modesty is not the best virtue you can have. If you only have modesty as a virtue, but you are a lying, cheating, gossiping, and rude person, you don't have much going for you. However, if you are full of truth, honesty, patience, kindness, and love, but you struggle with modesty, I'm pretty sure you are doing okay. I decided that working on my other virtues that I struggled with far exceeded the importance of obsessing over modesty.
Now that I'm older, I have no problem whatsoever with my body (on most days). I'm completely comfortable with my boobs and my legs, and I've gotten better at finding things that fit them. It took a long time for me to reach this point because I had been so affected by my time in Utah, so I become incredibly defensive when anyone tells me I'm not modest enough. One of my first semesters in college, I had a roommate tell me, while I was doing my mascara, that I needed to be careful when I bent over that day, because apparently I had cleavage. I stared her right in the eyes and said, "Honey, I always have to be careful when I bend over." What I really wanted to say is, "You have no idea what you're talking about, you flat-as-a-board twig. If I had a penny for every shirt that would fit you perfectly but give me cleavage, I'd be rich enough to by myself fifteen wardrobes full of modest shirts." I take pride in my modesty, and I am extremely offended when people, men or women, feel that they have the right to determine whether I'm modest enough for their standards.
By this point, you probably have a full understanding of my stance on modesty, so I'm going to bring up the topic that is probably the most different than many of my peers. I think it is okay if little kids are immodest. I believe even saying that a little child is immodest is like saying a little child is sinning. They are innocent. I think it is adorable when little two-year-olds wear bikinis (also, do you know what a pain it is to have a kid in a one-piece when they're potty training?). There is nothing wrong or degrading about a little kid running around in their underwear or buck naked. If it is evil for children to be naked, why are they born naked? My mom has a picture of her when she's probably eight-years-old wearing just some panties and an unbuttoned button down shirt while she plays outside. I think it so perfectly captures who she is. I'm not appalled that she would run around outside like that. She was a child, and there is nothing more pure and innocent than a naked child running around and playing. People who think there is something wrong with that, or think that it is teaching them immodesty, are just reiterating the idea that our bodies are only sexual. Those little children are already being sent the message that their bodies are only sexual by the media. Instead, we need to let them know that their bodies, whether clothed or not, are perfect, sacred creations made to house their bright little spirits. Teach them to appreciate it, love it, and not be ashamed of it. Because being ashamed and embarrassed by our bodies is exactly what Satan wants. Now, why would we want a little kid to feel that way?
People need to stop objectifying others, especially children, because when you point out and judge someone just because they are immodest, that's what you are doing: you are only seeing them as a body that needs to be covered up at risk of causing sexual thoughts in others, instead of seeing them as a child of God with many virtues that you've disregarded because you've stereotyped them as immodest.
So, I'm comfortable with naked people, I'm okay with my hard to cover up sexy curvaceous body, I think it's okay for little kids to run around with little to no clothing, and I'm a Mormon.
Now that I'm older, I have no problem whatsoever with my body (on most days). I'm completely comfortable with my boobs and my legs, and I've gotten better at finding things that fit them. It took a long time for me to reach this point because I had been so affected by my time in Utah, so I become incredibly defensive when anyone tells me I'm not modest enough. One of my first semesters in college, I had a roommate tell me, while I was doing my mascara, that I needed to be careful when I bent over that day, because apparently I had cleavage. I stared her right in the eyes and said, "Honey, I always have to be careful when I bend over." What I really wanted to say is, "You have no idea what you're talking about, you flat-as-a-board twig. If I had a penny for every shirt that would fit you perfectly but give me cleavage, I'd be rich enough to by myself fifteen wardrobes full of modest shirts." I take pride in my modesty, and I am extremely offended when people, men or women, feel that they have the right to determine whether I'm modest enough for their standards.
By this point, you probably have a full understanding of my stance on modesty, so I'm going to bring up the topic that is probably the most different than many of my peers. I think it is okay if little kids are immodest. I believe even saying that a little child is immodest is like saying a little child is sinning. They are innocent. I think it is adorable when little two-year-olds wear bikinis (also, do you know what a pain it is to have a kid in a one-piece when they're potty training?). There is nothing wrong or degrading about a little kid running around in their underwear or buck naked. If it is evil for children to be naked, why are they born naked? My mom has a picture of her when she's probably eight-years-old wearing just some panties and an unbuttoned button down shirt while she plays outside. I think it so perfectly captures who she is. I'm not appalled that she would run around outside like that. She was a child, and there is nothing more pure and innocent than a naked child running around and playing. People who think there is something wrong with that, or think that it is teaching them immodesty, are just reiterating the idea that our bodies are only sexual. Those little children are already being sent the message that their bodies are only sexual by the media. Instead, we need to let them know that their bodies, whether clothed or not, are perfect, sacred creations made to house their bright little spirits. Teach them to appreciate it, love it, and not be ashamed of it. Because being ashamed and embarrassed by our bodies is exactly what Satan wants. Now, why would we want a little kid to feel that way?
People need to stop objectifying others, especially children, because when you point out and judge someone just because they are immodest, that's what you are doing: you are only seeing them as a body that needs to be covered up at risk of causing sexual thoughts in others, instead of seeing them as a child of God with many virtues that you've disregarded because you've stereotyped them as immodest.
So, I'm comfortable with naked people, I'm okay with my hard to cover up sexy curvaceous body, I think it's okay for little kids to run around with little to no clothing, and I'm a Mormon.
Yeah, I don't think those "I'm a Mormon" people would let you on their blog.
Probably not, but that's okay. I'm still a struggling, doing what I can, strongly believing in my wonderful God sort of Mormon just like the rest of them. I just get angry when anyone takes doctrines and blows them up past the standards of the church in order to create their own standards. It happens a lot.
Are you done ranting?
Sigh* for now. I don't know if any of that made sense actually. I was kind of on one. And now I brace myself for the hoards of outraged Mormons with pitchforks.


















