This article on modesty was in Women’s Care, a free magazine that showed up in my mailbox yesterday.
I assume the way the girl is posed and the look on her face are supposed to imply immodesty. Her clothes don’t strike me as at all problematic (I mean, are peace signs sexy?), so if it’s supposed to be an image of the “comeback” of modesty, the pose and look are extra creepy.
Some quotes from the 1-page article:
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Victoria’s Secret executives who have long asked, ‘What is sexy?’ are now trying to figure out, ‘What’s too sexy?’…The revamping of the company’s product lines follows a drop in sales. Questions to chat about: Is modesty making a comeback or is the decrease in Victoria’s Secret’s sales the results of a sluggish economy?
Where can mothers find modest clothing for females from little girls to teens?
Again we see the assumption that caring for kids is women’s work–it’s not parents who are looking for clothing for their kids, it’s mothers.
In addition to the cut and length of clothing, the article discusses “slogan” tees that say things like “So many boys, so little time.” There is no mention whatsoever of boys’ slogan tees, which are also often offensive or at least questionable. We only need to worry about modesty in reference to girls, apparently.
Comments 11
K — May 4, 2008
I think Victoria's Secret's problem began when they started marketing to men more than to women. Their stores used to be styled as bedrooms/dressing rooms, with pastel colors, carpeting, and merchandise in dresser drawers. Now there is nothing but stark black and white tiling and oversexed mannequins. I don't shop there anymore because I just don't feel comfortable shopping in that environment.
E — May 4, 2008
I teach at a Catholic college. We recently held a public lecture about hymnody as a bridge between denominations. The local clergy who attended were fairly shocked at the t-shirt worn by the young man at the reception desk where they stopped to ask directions. It read "I'd F*** Me!"
It turned out that there is a dress code (not for modesty but for professionalism) and this didn't cut it.
I agree that the emphasis on modesty for women and girls ignores the men. On the other hand, I think women and girls are the ones who receive the most pervasive pressure to go to extremes in order to appear sexy - and many be helped most by counter messages.
Scapino — April 18, 2010
'Again we see the assumption that caring for kids is women’s work–it’s not parents who are looking for clothing for their kids, it’s mothers."
It's in Women's Care magazine.
...
Who Sexualizes Young Girls? » Sociological Images — July 6, 2010
[...] baby booties, “future trophy wife” kids’ tee, House of Dereón’s girls’ collection, “is modesty making a comeback?“, more sexualized clothes and toys, sexist kids’ tees, a trifecta of sexualizing girls, a [...]
Rory — July 6, 2010
This raises an important question:
Are boys lagging behind their female counterparts when it comes to sexy clothing? Or are they just underrepresented?
I say that boys deserve just as much critical judgments on how they dress as girls do.
It saddens me when I see a young boy wearing those tiny, skimpy socks that seem to be so popular now. The beach is even worse! Those boys have their shirts completely off, exposing their chests and developing muscles.
Furthermore, I hate to see when young boys dress way too maturely for their age. It's all too often I see boys in pro football jerseys, something they are at least two decades away from being able to wear as someone who has that actual job.