In our church we believe that woman should dress "modestly", and by that we mean no cleavage, long skirts and dresses, sleeves, no back showing, no belly button showing and so forth. It might seem a little strict for some but we believe that our beauty comes from our inner self, from our good actions and love for others, for our love to obey our Father commandments and service.
That doesn't mean we can't dress in a modern way or look pretty, actually I believe Mormon girls love to dress up and pretty up as much as any other girl, we just do it in a way that is not offensive or provocative to others.
I actually have always been attracted to this aspect of the church, I am a convert which means, I was not born and raise in the church. I was taught by a few kind and diligent missionaries and then was baptized at the age of 17. I never liked dressing in a provocative way so the church standards really suited me.
Now I live in Saudi Arabia were dressing provocative for everyone is not the case. Woman wear Abayas and Hijabs. They cover their entire body with a shapeless black dress and wrap their heads and sometimes even their face with a black scarf. The must cover every time they go outside were man can see them.
Why?, because they believe that woman's beauty can be too provocative and that it can lead to bad encounters. I do believe that they do go a little over board, I think that the way the look at it makes it so the man have no responsibility for his actions and I know that man can control themselves.
Is it true? Is our beauty so powerful? Are we THAT beautiful?
I was reading a book about a Saudi Doctor that was wondering if she was "wasting" her beauty by not covering her head.
I met a lady when we moved here last year, she covered her head all the time and even though you could tell she was pretty, it wasn't until that day at a party that I saw her without Abaya and without scarf that I could see the fine shape of her body, the weight of her bouncy waist length curly black hair that I could truly admire her physical beauty. No other man besides her husband or immediate family could see that.
How much does she treasures her beauty? How much do I treasure mine? I don't believe I am a bomb shell but I do believe that sometimes we (woman) get carried away with the fashion world and we let ourselves get lost and we "waste" our beauty with some that will not appreciate it the way it should be.
What is my worth? is it really that bad to show some skin? are shoulders that decadent?
I might after all start covering my hair, we don't want all the man over here to go crazy about it! ;-)
5 comments:
I love what you wrote. you are amazing Belky. Miss you.
Belky, thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. You have expressed it so well and beautifully. And I definitely needed to hear it! I love you!
ps. Wyatt loved your message for him :)
You are a beautiful woman Belky :)
I have never heard such a wonderful expression of what it means to be modest before. your thoughts are inspiring. I wish I could have read and pondered your words when I was a teenager. Maybe I would have made some different clothing choices...
Nate and I constantly comment on how much we like the fact we don't have to worry about seeing half-naked women all over the place while being here! Every time we go out of SA we have a visual shock!
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