So...I read the news sometimes when I get online. I know this is a showcase of my family...but I can't help to be opinionated sometimes. So, what set me off a little bit is a little news bit they did on everyone being "outraged" by a Barbie doll wearing the burka (the cover women wear over their entire head and face in some Muslim parts of the world...for those of you who don't know it's technical name). I don't understand the doctrinal and political context of the Burka...but I had this thought the other day observing one of my little neighbors who was about 11 years old I guess, probably from Muslim East Africa and wearing a head scarf, not the full Burka.
I noticed what a bright happy girl she appeared to be and maybe I shouldn't judge the religion so fast. I mean, it seems oppressive, but the girls in our modern, free western world do all sorts of crazy things to their bodies and show things off and looked oppressed too, and I don't think that is good either. I don't think that my country has all the answers. I felt like she was somehow free of having to worry about tantalizing and being sexy, and that was great. Girls in my culture feel alot of pressure that way.
So with that thought, after I saw Burka story and how terrible it was...I saw a story about a new coffee shop in Denver called "Perky Cups" where the women wear Bikinis. Ugh..I hate that. Sure girls can choose to work there or not. But it didn't exactly make me proud either. I think this is just as "outrageous". I think women say it's about being sexy, but you are who you are underneath your clothes..this is just tantalizing.
So, my conclusion, girls...why don't we figure out what dignity is. How do we act and dress to bring ourselves dignity? How do we demand it from others so that we show them we are humans and not objects, either in ownership or ogling. I feel for girls trying to ride the cultural extremes. I fear for my girl. I hope she knows what dignity is.
Call me a prude, but I won't be going to Perky Cups. Still worried about girls being oppressed around the world and wondering if there ever will be a perfect culture.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
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3 comments:
Stacy, I love you dearly. Well put. Thank you so much for sharing this, I completely agree with you. I too, will not be visiting "Perky Cups" either.
No "Perky Cups" for me either (in more ways than I care to discuss). This is where I am so thankful for the guidelines on modest dress for YM/YW (and Catholic HS didn't hurt either). I don't believe in oppression either but I do believe girls can be trendy and stylish and look cute without looking like they should be standing on Colfax. I just wish the rest of popular culture agreed with me. Like Stacy said, where is the dignity?
I think it's incredible that us women even have the choice in this country to go to a place called "Perky Cups". That's what I think is important. The choice. You can dress like you belong on Colfax, or you can dress for sacrament meeting, either way, what makes me happy is that us women have a choice about what we wear, where we go, what church we go to, and if our evening should include a coffee drink at "Perky Cups." That, I think, is what our country is doing right, giving us women the choice to live how we please.
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