183 thoughts on “Fundy Tweet of the Week: Dress to Impress”
Because that means britches-wearing women aren’t saved, you know that right?
Read this as “britches-wearing women aren’t shaved.” Will stop laughing sometime…
If you’re not wearing a skirt you don’t really need to shave your legs as often.
I admit, when I see women in (non-fancy) ultra-modest skirts and dresses out in public I always assume they are Christians of the fundy persuasion.
Thing is, if you stand out so much by how you dress are you really being modest? Isn’t part of being modest the act of NOT calling attention to yourself?
Yes! (I mentioned that in a super-long comment I posted below, but here you’d already said it!)
Oh, boy. This reminds me of visiting my fundy in-laws in Florida back when my FIL pastored an IFB church there. At that time, I would wear skirts when visiting them out of “respect”–I have since given that up. Anyway, my fundy sister-in-law was there with her husband and 4 kids. They all decided to go to the beach. In a church van. With all of us wimmin-folk in skirts. Oh, my did we ever draw some attention to ourselves! Somehow, I don’t think inducing people to stare at your outward appearance is “modest”!
Actually no – modesty in Scripture is not drawing attention to your flesh in a sensual way – not just “drawing attention to self”. For example, the Amish dress strange, but they are obviously modest.
We don’t follow the world in their way of dress – it is not a Christian’s job to “fit in” with the world, just because they may look strange. The Christian’s job is to please God.
1 Timothy 2
“Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,”
Haven’t seen any prohibition against showing your knees or shoulders.
B,
There is no one standard of modesty for the whole world at any given time. What comprises modesty differs from place to place, and time to time. How can that be if your deity never changes and everything is always in B&W?
I know a woman who went on a missions trip to a third-world country. She was advised not to wear sleeveless shirts while there because that was considered immodest by the people of that country. Are sleeveless tops immodest in America? Not that I know of. So what one person considers modest another person might not. How is one supposed to dress in those conditions?
Granted, one should be aware of one’s audience when doing anything. However, if one is so weak that seeing an ankle or bicep is going to incite unbridled lust, then perhaps one should stay inside.
The story about Joseph running away from Mrs Potiphar is often held up as a model of virtue. If he had the intestinal fortitude to flee youthful lust, why can’t the men of today do the same? What about Psalm 101:3, oft cited by fundy preachers about the evils of Hellywood and porn and such? Look away if you see a naked elbow.
How is it that men are the stronger vessel if the sight of a mere woman reduces them to unthinking, instinctual, undisciplined animals?
That said, I do wish people would stop wearing their pajamas in public. That is tacky. Walmart isn’t Buckingham Palace, but it’s not your bedroom either. Dress appropriately, and if that means a sleeveless top that is five fingers below the collarbone, and a pair of flip-flops (GASP! Chest cleavage AND toe cleavage!!!!) then so be it. But jammies to the store? No.
Fundy pastors can’t even seem to agree on standards of modesty. God must be speaking to each of them differently. Amen?
UTBF, the idea that “right” depended on which pastor you align with troubled me back in the day but I dismissed it. Now I know it was logic trying to dopeslap me into clear thinking.
I still can’t get over the Hammond men getting hot and bothered about toe cleavage and the rules about shoes.
That’s funny. Unless I’m in a Fundy Enclave City like Greenville or Pensacola, I usualy think Mormon first.
I guess it depends on where you live. In Texas, the majority of women I’ve seen in the “religious” type of long skirts were conservative Muslims. Of course, most of them also wear the headscarves.
Yeah, I grew up in NY state, so I see those skirts and think Jewish Orthodox automatically…
I would agree with the immediate assumption that the women are fundies, but whether they are Christians is another question entirely.
1 Samuel 16:7 “…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Not to bring the Bible into it or anything.
One of the final straws for me when my kids were at the local huge fundy Christian school here in Pensacola was when the dean said to the 7th graders, “We dress like this so people know we are Christians.” Nothing about God looking on the heart. I told my son Jesus didn’t wear polos and khakis, and that was our last year at the school. It seemed to get worse the older the kids got.
I think that was a nice way of inquiring if they were Fundies-As-Seen-On-TV.
Well Gee Golly Whittakers!!!!
That story doesn’t sound made-up at all!! 🙂
I thought it sounded familiar! ;op
It does happen in Fundieland. “Good Ole Days” Christians like to give positive reinforcement.
I don’t think this is what James had in mind when he said “I’ll show you my faith by my works.” Hence him clarifying with James 1:27. Sad thing is, this guy is proud. Did he share Christ with this individual? A better comment would have been “I just had the opportunity to share Jesus w/someone ’cause he asked about my wife & daughters’ skirts” It would have made his point and given the Lord something to smile about. . .well, a half smile.
What he didn’t tell is that the whole question was, “Are y’all Christians, Mormons, Amish, or Mennonites? I only see them wearing skirts anymore?”
Here in the Willamette Valley they’re likely Mennonites (with the little prayer cap), Old Believers (with ‘Babuska’ style scarf), or conservative pentecostals (usually UPI). Not so many IFB up here.
The Old Believers up here would not be caught dead in frumpers or A-line skirts. They make their own eye-poppingly gorgeous two-piece-looks-like-one-piece ensembles. I wish I had photos. One that stands out in my mind was sewn in vertical panels of red and white in some fabric that flowed in soft pleats so that with one step the skirt looked all white, then with the next it was all red . . . Awesome.
BTW I sat near a young O.B. couple on a flight to Hawaii. He wore O.B. loose trousers and a T-shirt. She wore a O.B. modest blouse and Bermuda shorts. They both wore Keds. Hey, whatever works.
Googling Old Believers results in some lovely photos of women in sarafan-like dresses and men in baggy pants who live in communities in Alaska and Oregon. I can’t figure out how to display just a photo, though. Every time I try, the link turns out to be to an entire article on Old Believers.
Local women tend to wear something more like a long-sleeved maxi dress, except that they are two pieces fastened together to look like one piece. I haven’t discussed dressmaking with any Old Believers, so I only know that the dresses are two-piece outfits because of the one time I saw a young bride(?) in the top half of her O.B. outfit and a pair of Bermuda shorts.
UPI? United Press International? Didn’t the Moonies buy that agency?
If you look closely at James, that isn’t a skirt- that’s his cloak pulled around him. Underneath he’s wearing ‘trunk hose’ and stockings. And heels.
So much more manly! 😆
King Jimmie may be commando
Well, now I know Bugs is a Christian. That made my day.
Sadly, Fugate lives right here in my town. Can I disown him, please? Or “separate myself from him,” at least?
And I’ve seen plenty of women in skirts around town. My wife wears them to church plenty of times. So does my daughter. You see plenty of stylish skirts in shops large and small all across the bluegrass. Go to Keeneland on a fine spring day, and check out how many stylish skirts and dresses you’ll see, as far as you can look.
I don’t know if it’s the fact that not all skirts meet fundy approval, or if it’s the fact that the skirts-in-question were being worn out and about on a weekday running errands, rather than dressing up for a special occasion. Or if this story is apocryphal. But other commenters here have a point – dressing overly modestly to draw attention to your supposed modesty isn’t exactly in the spirit of modesty at all.
I am sure there will be a lot of skirts at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. Who knew so many Christians attended?
yes, because as Jesus stated, “they will know you are my disciples by the length of the skirts your women will wear. As I have loved you, go and make sure women are not in pants.”
Too many fundy pastors spend too much time trying to get women out of pants.
I would have thought that they were trying to get _in_ them…
^_^
Your version of that verse just made my day! They’d never say it, but that’s their ideology right there. I may have to restrain my laughter this Sunday!
That’s nothing. Until a few months ago I had long hair and beard. I’ve had people come up to me and ask me if I was Jesus. So there.
Once a guy came up to me to ask me for a dollar. He had a Solo cup full of beer in hand, and had obviously already finished off several. He squinted at me and poured out his beer. “You look too much like Jesus, man.” I said, “Thou fool! Knowest thou not that I have given thee all good things to enjoy?” I gave him a dollar anyway. He probably just went and used it to replace his squandered beer.
I really want that to be a true story.
It would’ve been cooler if you’d waved your hand & magically replaced the spilled beer, instead of giving the guy a buck.
Or turned his beer into more beer! Multiplied the beers and the fishes!
Verily, verily, my little children–seekest thou me only for my miracles? Behold! I givest thee money. Purchase thine own beer.
Nah, man. Only grape juice. Thou shalt not drink alcoholic beverages. First Opinions 1:1
^^
Love it.
Reminds me of when I went to a comedy club with about a dozen of my friends, all guys, most of us fairly clean cut, back in college. Sadly, all dateless at the time – typical guy’s night out.
The one not-so-clean-cut of my friends, a guy with long, straggly hair and the start of a beard happened to be sitting somewhere in the middle of our group, which got us made fun of all night by the comedian for being “the last supper.”
I have a physical disability which necessitates a pants-only approach to life. I figure if someone is too shallow to see beyond the-feminine-pant sets that I wear to work and church, it’s not worth wasting the time to justify my fashion choices.
He was being polite – what wanted to say was, “I see you are all frumpy, but definitely not bohos”
Number one indicator of a christian to the world: skirts. I would call that a failure on the part of Christians.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye wear socially inappropriate clothing in public places.
John 13:35 (King James Modified)
Excellent point.
In total agreement !!
I can identify fundies by the way they dress. It makes me feel so sorry for them, especially when I see little cookie cutter children with them.
This was us, growing up. Little homeschooled conformist children all in a row.
Last year, I was with the fundy branch of my husband’s family. My little niece, who was 4 and has been in dresses since she was a baby, leaned over to me and whispered, “Girls don’t wear pants.” I was wearing jeans at the time. Poor thing…I think she was truly confused.
Even worse, some members of my old church had a little girl who was about 3 when the mom stood up in church and tearfully told how God had convicted her about letting her daughter wear pants. After that, the child was always in a dress. If she acted like a normal child–playing, rolling around on the floor, etc.–she was punished for showing her legs.
We used to sit in the front of the church to prove a point that we were more spiritual than the people that sat in the back. My little skirt-clad sisters used to roll around during the long IFB sermons and would frequently flash the preacher.
If the story has any truth to it, it was more likely , “Are you IFB legalists?” And, since according to Fundies they are the only true Christians, it was the same question to him..
A lot of my skirts are either too loud or too short (by fundy standards) to qualify as modest. Nothing says out of Fundystan quite like my short, leopard-print pencil skirt. Not to mention my low-cut top, cuff bracelet and choker necklaces. And really high heels. Peep-toe, no less.
Peep-toe?
Tramp.
;op
Yup, that’s me. And I forgot about my big earrings and garish lipstick.
Well to the rest of the universe that is just called “getting ready for your day”…
I suppose that would depend on what one is doing that day. That’s certainly not my attire for the gym.
I’m sure you wear culottes and a 1980’s era sweater to the gym, right?
That is the attire requirement for flight attendants.
Dr F, when I go to the gym I wear tanks with straps that are more fettucine straps than spaghetti straps, and tight workout leggings that are about as far from modest as my aforementioned too-short skirt.
I always heard stories like this growing up. I believe a large portion of them are lies. Nobody ever looked at my family as anything but a little touched in the head.
I had a good [female] friend that attended MBBC…she hated the fact that they were forced to wear skirts whenever they went off campus. She knew anyone from the school was identifiable as such just from their attire and felt like people looked at them “like some kind of weirdo.”
The grocery store lady asked if we were Amish.
I see a lot of Pentecostal women wearing skirts too.
But I agree with….someone further up, that there is a very distinct style with MOST of them. I know several very classy dressers. It’s the girls that are the dead give-aways though. Plenty of modern women wear skirts/hose/heels in office jobs and the like, but it’s very rare to see teenage girls in ankle length (or even worse, calf-length), straight denim skirts. You can be casual and modest in plenty of other ways, that’s just not a good look (imo).
I did have to laugh watching the Buffy series from the 90s, because she wore a lot of long, straight, floral skirts to class. Cannot stand the look!
I have to say that I kind of like the idea of people assuming I am Christ’s because of how I dress.
I tend to think, when I see women in a dress or skirt, that they are Christians.
I don’t really find anything offensive in this tweet; he didn’t demand that everyone do what he does (although he probably does preach that).
“I have to say that I kind of like the idea of people assuming I am Christ’s because of how I dress.”
She was raised strict evangelical, but it doesn’t appear to have been IFB.
Her first album (under the name Katy Hudson) was of Gospel music.
Yes, but it wasn’t exactly IFB-style “gospel” music (a/k/a Gaithers minus the percussion). It was pretty bland CCM, from what I understand.
Wouldn’t you rather people assume you’re Christian by how you act rather than how you dress? I know lots of people who dress the part but I wouldn’t give them two cents for their brand of god.
Well, certainly, but what would set a Christian apart in his behavior (and we’re talking about among strangers in public)?
Certainly, I wish my behavior to honor God, but unless something happens that needs Christian grace, most people seem to behave pretty decently, so there isn’t much of a difference in that way.
I personally don’t want to be part of a religious group that dresses drastically different from the rest of society. If all you have to offer is a different wardrobe selection I’m not interested. Behavior is more important than your clothes.
Part of me finds being identified as a Christian by the clothes I wear to be comfortable and reassuring, but I think that’s more the tribalism of it, my identification with a group, my having a place to belong and publicly signifying it.
For me, though, it comes with a little baggage. It’s so easy for me to slip into feelings of spiritual pride, of superiority and arrogance when I rely on my clothes to set me apart. (Not so much when it’s just me on my own, but when it’s my whole family, boys in khaki pants and polos and girls in long skirts — a whole family dressed that way really grabs people’s attention.) Not only am I tempted to self-righteousness, I am also tempted into spiritual laziness, forgetting to identify with Christ through my other behaviors because I’ve got on my “holy clothes.” (Of course, there may be some people whose attire prompts them to be humble and gentle and gracious, but I’ll admit that this is not always the case.)
Lastly, I’m not sure dressing this way is a good testimony at all. Yes, some people might look at me and think, “That family must be Christian”, but does anyone looking at us think, “I’d like to be one too!”? It’s sort of like seeing Amish or Mennonite people or, around where I live, Orthodox Jews or Muslims. I can identify them by their clothing, but I have no desire or interest to be part of them. My goal in life is not just to identify myself as a Christian but to share Christ with others. If my clothing style sets me apart, isolating me from my community, I think it is a stumbling block.
(I do respect people who chose to dress conservatively or sedately — modestly in every sense of the word — but I don’t think the typical fundy female look of jean skirts and Keds does that. I think it rather draws attention to itself, when I want myself to decrease but Christ to increase.)
Good words, pw!
My son has “holy clothes.” He’s at the age where he keeps sliding on his knees everywhere, and we can’t keep them from ripping to shreds.
Seriously, though, I agree with all your points. When I see sects that dress not just modestly, but aggressively different from the culture around them, I can’t help but almost rolling my eyes at them. They may not realize it, but the image they’re projecting is one of drawing attention to their own works, their own righteousness, their own difference. It’s anything but modest.
I agree that one could become proud about being different.
The Bible does have a lot to say about how we dress, and I agree that we should not try to draw attention to ourselves. But as the world slides farther from God, Christians who dress modestly are just going to stand out.
It is interesting that in Dr Fulgate’s part of the country, people seem to associate skirts/dresses as Christian attire — he didn’t say that — someone else did.
I’ve never had the temptation that I could be un-Christlike because I’m wearing “holy clothes”.
I don’t mind being set apart by my clothing, but you are quite right to say that it is not an end it itself; the different dress may draw attention, but the gracious, Christ-like attitude should be what people want.
“But as the world slides farther from God, Christians who dress modestly are just going to stand out.”
Today I’m wearing grey jeans and a black turtleneck top. It’s modest and I’m not standing out.
My point being, I don’t have to wear a certain kind of skirt and look different from the crowd to be a modest Christian.
Dressing differently from outsiders is one of the marks of a cult. It is just another way of separating ‘us’ from ‘them’.
Anything that creates a divide is not going to help us be salt and light in the world.
GR, the Bible may (perhaps) have a lot to say about how we dress, but it has nowhere near as much to say about the topic as the fundies think that it does. (FWIW, every single Bible verse that mentions clothing is not part of some vast Biblical scheme to give us little clues, one tantalizing bit at a time, of how we are “supposed” to dress. Most fundy teaching on clothing involves LOTS of teasing meaning out of passages about clothing that are descriptive and NOT prescriptive.)
Well. Said. VERY well said!.
I can see the appeal of tribalism via dress, but since I left fundystan, I’ve worked really hard to make my behaviour the difference. Even down to being very careful with my driving because of the bumper stickers on my car.
Maybe it was a very windy day, and the skirt wasn’t what the man was talking about seeing…………….
Every good and proper woman of Fundystan wears bloomers under her skirts to prevent a man from seeing her legs should the wind violently gust.
He didn’t tweet the part of the story where the man fell to his knees saying “what must I do to be born again ?”
I’m sure a follow up tweet is coming where he will be at church on Sunday to be baptized.
Anyone shopped at http://www.1611skirts.com ? I highly recommend you go there if nobody says you look like a Christian this week
I definitely think the skirts-wearing families are really doing so today to just identify themselves to other fundy families. It doesn’t really seem to be the testimony to the world that we were told it was.
Ha ha! Those dresses do not look like they are from 1611. Compared to the long dresses of the 17th century, these hussies are street walkers only wear skirts down to their knees. How immodest and unchristian!
@ Semp: Not to mention lace, ribbons, and embroidery. And fancy facial hair. And fetching hats.
And showing their arms! (Dear me, I have the vapors!)
Wear a respirator.
“He didn’t tweet the part of the story where the man fell to his knees saying “what must I do to be born again ?””
…and he told him you must Admit, Believe, and Wear Skirts.
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t tell a man to wear a skirt. Then again, I’m sure there’s been more than a few cross-dressing fundy guys.
Its probably not just the skirt. Its probably more like they just stepped off the set of Little House on the Prairie.
I’ve caught MoGs telling these types of stories and they are either untrue or twisted. I was with my old MoG once when someone made that comment only AFTER he gave them a tract, and they just happened to draw their attention to the skirts.
Story got twisted during the morning announcements (not sermon) to illustrate the important of a lady’s (not woman) ministry to be silent and wear a skirt.
Dear Pastor Jeff Fu[mi]gate:
When did you last see a fish in a tree?
Christian Socialist
I’ve seen fish in a tree, though not very recently.
There are a few fish species that live in swamps and are known to climb trees on occasion. The most famous are mud skippers and climbing perch. They climb up on tree roots and low branches or sloping trunks to feed on insects, and sometimes just to have a look around. They don’t climb super-high, but nonetheless they do climb out of the water on trees.
The climbing perch is even named for this habit (the “climbing” part of the name is true, but “perch” is not– it’s actually an anabantoid, not a perch).
Can I be the first Brit to say that these discussions always have an extra level of amusement for UK English speakers?
You’re not the first, but you’re just as right as the others.
Especially the part about wearing “pants,” which is what British people call the garment Americans call panties, briefs, underpants, boxers, etc.
I’ve been wondering about this for awhile:
What is the British equivalent of American “pants”? Or do you use “trousers” regardless of how formal or casual the clothing is?
American “pants” = British “trousers.”
I used to wear skirts only. I was asked if I was Pentecostal….Mormon…..Amish…. Just the fact that you are wearing a skirt does not automatically identify what group you represent.
Exactly. When I was still in Fundyland, with a closetful of ankle-length skirts, I once had a man say to me, “You look different. Is that a religious thing?” That’s the only time anybody came close to associating my clothing with Christianity.
I’ve said this before. This is the IFB male’s way of exerting control over the female. It’s marking her off as “his property” so other men won’t try to inseminate her.
Or fill her mind with improper ideas, like the horrible fact that due to us godless feminists, it’s completely legal for her to get a paycheck in her own name, deposit it in an account under her own name, and spend it as she alone sees fit.
Let them wear burqas.
This is one of those weird, non-sequitar, random IFB Facebook posts that I just don’t know how to process. Seriously – I don’t have the intellectual space to even interact with something like this. I could begin by asking simple questions like “who cares” “what’s your point” or “why did you feel the need to share this” but…I’m just not interested enough.
It really doesn’t take all that much intellectual space, Dr F, P.
(My doctorate is honorary)
Oh, come on, Dr. F, you know why he mentions it–
To let you know he’s holier than you are because he makes his women wear funny clothes.
(My own wife tells me she has been dressing herself since she was about six, but Pastor Fuggit doesn’t seem to value that skill in a woman.)
Dr. – Your inability to process this post is called “conviction”. Get right with God and put a tie on.
On our public university campus, we see nearly all types of attire these days, short skirts, long skirts, slacks, shorts, short shorts, etc. but not long denim skirts. Everything but.
Haha same at USF, my campus
I’ve been working the last 15 years in China. When I first got here, in general (always exceptions to every rule, of course), the only women who wore skirts were prostitutes and pretty, empty-headed young girls in the business world who were advertising that they were willing to be your toy/candy/”personal assistant” in exchange for loads of money to the opportunity to get ahead. Decent women only wore pants–almost always only in dark colors, and usually in the old Mao suit style. All kids wore school uniforms, and all school uniforms were identical track suits (with pants only) for boys and girls. The only time you saw dresses or skirts otherwise was in uniforms for restaurant waitresses, which were often in the old flowing silk qipao style.
This has changed some as they’ve gotten farther from their Maoist past, but as a general principle it still holds, particularly outside the big cities. As a result, after a few years I had no skirts left at all. Just a few jeans and a lot of black/navy/grey trousers. I remember explaining to a, interestingly, non-Baptist fundy woman in America once who couldn’t comprehend that I didn’t own a skirt to wear to her church when I visited that “where I come from only whores wear skirts. Moral ladies always wear pants.” Telling her that, using that wording, was one of most fun things I’ve ever done. She nearly had a stroke on the spot, but couldn’t think of a thing to say.
Great experience of a different culture. Excellent.
Just further proof that not wearing skirts is an innovation of GODLESS COMMUNISTS and EASTERN PAGAN RELIGIONS.
“the only women who wore skirts were prostitutes and pretty, empty-headed young girls”
I have not been to China, but I did go to public school and pretty much everyone called skirts “easy access” attire
We were told in fundy school that only “mini skirts were made for easy access.” Direct quote from a male teacher.
That’s also said about all skirts as opposed to trousers.
I’ve mentioned this here before, but there was a rape trial in Italy a few years ago where a judge found the defendant innocent on the grounds that it’s impossible to rape a woman wearing jeans in a car. I’m happy to say this ruling led to a lot of justified public outrage in Italy.
A whole family of women and girls in long dresses around here is probably usually assumed to be Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, or some cult. Not too many IFB’s.
I don’t have any problem with women and girls wearing denim dresses or whatever. I can’t be the judge regarding their motives.
BG posted wome humorous pics of entertainment women-folk in various and sundry (yep, KJVing it) so-called dresses. I regretted opening the Miley Cirus link, but life goes on. I see the satire in it all.
It’s up to each family to decide what is appropriate for them. If they judge me harshly for what my family decides, so be it. I can’t help that.
When I was going through the line at the chow hall back at Davis-Monthan AFB back in ’85 I noticed that the cashier didn’t charge me for some SOS (that’s meat for you civilian-types) that was hidden under some mashed taters. I told him about it so he could ring it up. He then asked me if I was a Christian.
What, pray tell, is the difference, if any?
Of course, everyone should wear whatever they like. If that’s long skirts, fine.
The point is that Christianity gives you no solid grounds to judge people who wear something different, or to boast that your way is superior.
I see a big difference in being recognized for doing a good deed and in being recognized for wearing a uniform. But, again, wear what you like.
BG,
That’s the point I’m trying to make, SOS under the taters notwithstanding!
“The point is that Christianity gives you no solid grounds to judge people ”
Actually we could stop the sentence right there and be 100% biblically accurate.
Just in case anyone’s wondering– Miley is clothed in the picture I linked to. But she is still Miley Cyrus. There’s no avoiding that if you choose to look at that photo.
Davis-Monthan. Ah, so you were a Tucsonan for awhile.
A short while.
I was there for training before shipping out to W. Germany where a new GLCM base was opening…compliments of Reagan and “Peace Through Strength.”
It worked.
My mother used to LOVE being stopped and asked if she was a Christian because of the various pieces she used to wear from the 1982 frump denim spring collection. She once had a black man (gasp!) stop her in the grocery store and ask her to pray for him. That was the proof right there that her clothes were godly.
Only in fundy land does the results of a denim skirt end with “What must I do to be saved?”
Apparently, appropriate apparel appears to appease the pious person perched on their preconceptions regarding Christian proprietary.
Perfect
My husband and I were at the mall a few weeks ago, he was in Starbucks, I was waiting outside. Some fundies in skirts came and sat next to me. I texted him, “Fundy alert! Fundy alert!” He later told me he was debating whether or not to come out saying, “So about that great John Wesley/CS Lewis/Billy Graham. I wish he had. 🙂
My son will say out loud, “look Fundies!” while pointing if he spots one.
Not quite the reaction they want based on their clothes, I assume. Lol.
Next time we’re at the mall, I’ll tell them how nice they look then ask if they make those skirts in my size
Skirt…no. Kilt? Ok!
Apparently, that’s exactly the reaction Jeff Fugate is so proud of.
(Someone pointing and saying, “Look, Fundies!” I mean.)
Seems to be. Like someone said earlier Christian = fundamentalist to him, but not necessarily to everyone else.
i remember the only skirt days. when playing volleyball on our church team we had over skirt culottes made. if it wasn’t for the love of the game i would have never played. playing volleyball in those horrible things were more immodest and drawed more attention than playing in long shorts. i remember hearing so many times preachers saying what this guy stated and the response cause we’re baptist/ifb. when i wore skirts, i was asked if i were Mormon or Amish. i remember so many camps, youth conferences, guest speakers preaching and going into so many guilt trips for women to wear only skirts. I’ve heard some go into detail about how pants reveal and how zippers are arrows to point to certain areas.
“And because you wear such long modest skirts, I want what you’ve got” Said no one. EVER.
I’m sure someone said that to this dude – years ago my pastor’s wife said the same thing to me – she was in the store with her sisters and someone came up to them and asked them if they were Christians, because of how they were dressed.
I remember the first person I ever met who wore that kind of modest uniform. I was ten and she was another student and she always dressed in a way that reminded me of Holly Hobbie. She would sit out gym and when I asked her why she said that girls should not do sports. I became fascinated with her (I might’ve had a ten year old girlcrush), and we became friends. I’d stay over at her house and go to her church (not IBF). The weirdest part was she slept in rollers and I had to wear them as well. After we moved I heard that she married at 16. I still wonder how she’s doing.
All this is about modesty in wimmin. What about us men? What does that look like?
Wear an ephod and a tallis with tzitzit and tekhelet.
Isn’t it funny how fundy’s scoff at taking our cues for what a Christian should be from the world except in instances like this?
My fundy sister-in-law’s four kids were always dressed as if they were in uniforms……and they were homeschooled…….and this was even for visiting relatives. Khakis, polos (solid colors of course), jumpers for the girls (even the sister-in-law wears jumpers!).
My son used to call them “Children of the Corn.”
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A silly blog dedicated to Independent Fundamental Baptists, their standards, their beliefs, and their craziness.
Because that means britches-wearing women aren’t saved, you know that right?
Read this as “britches-wearing women aren’t shaved.” Will stop laughing sometime…
If you’re not wearing a skirt you don’t really need to shave your legs as often.
I admit, when I see women in (non-fancy) ultra-modest skirts and dresses out in public I always assume they are Christians of the fundy persuasion.
Thing is, if you stand out so much by how you dress are you really being modest? Isn’t part of being modest the act of NOT calling attention to yourself?
Yes! (I mentioned that in a super-long comment I posted below, but here you’d already said it!)
Oh, boy. This reminds me of visiting my fundy in-laws in Florida back when my FIL pastored an IFB church there. At that time, I would wear skirts when visiting them out of “respect”–I have since given that up. Anyway, my fundy sister-in-law was there with her husband and 4 kids. They all decided to go to the beach. In a church van. With all of us wimmin-folk in skirts. Oh, my did we ever draw some attention to ourselves! Somehow, I don’t think inducing people to stare at your outward appearance is “modest”!
Actually no – modesty in Scripture is not drawing attention to your flesh in a sensual way – not just “drawing attention to self”. For example, the Amish dress strange, but they are obviously modest.
We don’t follow the world in their way of dress – it is not a Christian’s job to “fit in” with the world, just because they may look strange. The Christian’s job is to please God.
1 Timothy 2
“Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,”
Haven’t seen any prohibition against showing your knees or shoulders.
B,
There is no one standard of modesty for the whole world at any given time. What comprises modesty differs from place to place, and time to time. How can that be if your deity never changes and everything is always in B&W?
I know a woman who went on a missions trip to a third-world country. She was advised not to wear sleeveless shirts while there because that was considered immodest by the people of that country. Are sleeveless tops immodest in America? Not that I know of. So what one person considers modest another person might not. How is one supposed to dress in those conditions?
Granted, one should be aware of one’s audience when doing anything. However, if one is so weak that seeing an ankle or bicep is going to incite unbridled lust, then perhaps one should stay inside.
The story about Joseph running away from Mrs Potiphar is often held up as a model of virtue. If he had the intestinal fortitude to flee youthful lust, why can’t the men of today do the same? What about Psalm 101:3, oft cited by fundy preachers about the evils of Hellywood and porn and such? Look away if you see a naked elbow.
How is it that men are the stronger vessel if the sight of a mere woman reduces them to unthinking, instinctual, undisciplined animals?
That said, I do wish people would stop wearing their pajamas in public. That is tacky. Walmart isn’t Buckingham Palace, but it’s not your bedroom either. Dress appropriately, and if that means a sleeveless top that is five fingers below the collarbone, and a pair of flip-flops (GASP! Chest cleavage AND toe cleavage!!!!) then so be it. But jammies to the store? No.
Fundy pastors can’t even seem to agree on standards of modesty. God must be speaking to each of them differently. Amen?
UTBF, the idea that “right” depended on which pastor you align with troubled me back in the day but I dismissed it. Now I know it was logic trying to dopeslap me into clear thinking.
I still can’t get over the Hammond men getting hot and bothered about toe cleavage and the rules about shoes.
That’s funny. Unless I’m in a Fundy Enclave City like Greenville or Pensacola, I usualy think Mormon first.
I guess it depends on where you live. In Texas, the majority of women I’ve seen in the “religious” type of long skirts were conservative Muslims. Of course, most of them also wear the headscarves.
Yeah, I grew up in NY state, so I see those skirts and think Jewish Orthodox automatically…
I would agree with the immediate assumption that the women are fundies, but whether they are Christians is another question entirely.
1 Samuel 16:7 “…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Not to bring the Bible into it or anything.
One of the final straws for me when my kids were at the local huge fundy Christian school here in Pensacola was when the dean said to the 7th graders, “We dress like this so people know we are Christians.” Nothing about God looking on the heart. I told my son Jesus didn’t wear polos and khakis, and that was our last year at the school. It seemed to get worse the older the kids got.
I think that was a nice way of inquiring if they were Fundies-As-Seen-On-TV.
Well Gee Golly Whittakers!!!!
That story doesn’t sound made-up at all!! 🙂
I thought it sounded familiar! ;op
It does happen in Fundieland. “Good Ole Days” Christians like to give positive reinforcement.
I don’t think this is what James had in mind when he said “I’ll show you my faith by my works.” Hence him clarifying with James 1:27. Sad thing is, this guy is proud. Did he share Christ with this individual? A better comment would have been “I just had the opportunity to share Jesus w/someone ’cause he asked about my wife & daughters’ skirts” It would have made his point and given the Lord something to smile about. . .well, a half smile.
What he didn’t tell is that the whole question was, “Are y’all Christians, Mormons, Amish, or Mennonites? I only see them wearing skirts anymore?”
Here in the Willamette Valley they’re likely Mennonites (with the little prayer cap), Old Believers (with ‘Babuska’ style scarf), or conservative pentecostals (usually UPI). Not so many IFB up here.
The Old Believers up here would not be caught dead in frumpers or A-line skirts. They make their own eye-poppingly gorgeous two-piece-looks-like-one-piece ensembles. I wish I had photos. One that stands out in my mind was sewn in vertical panels of red and white in some fabric that flowed in soft pleats so that with one step the skirt looked all white, then with the next it was all red . . . Awesome.
BTW I sat near a young O.B. couple on a flight to Hawaii. He wore O.B. loose trousers and a T-shirt. She wore a O.B. modest blouse and Bermuda shorts. They both wore Keds. Hey, whatever works.
Googling Old Believers results in some lovely photos of women in sarafan-like dresses and men in baggy pants who live in communities in Alaska and Oregon. I can’t figure out how to display just a photo, though. Every time I try, the link turns out to be to an entire article on Old Believers.
Local women tend to wear something more like a long-sleeved maxi dress, except that they are two pieces fastened together to look like one piece. I haven’t discussed dressmaking with any Old Believers, so I only know that the dresses are two-piece outfits because of the one time I saw a young bride(?) in the top half of her O.B. outfit and a pair of Bermuda shorts.
UPI? United Press International? Didn’t the Moonies buy that agency?
United Pentecostal Church International. (http://www.upci.org/) I missed the C.
Where the heck do they live where no women wear skirts?
Here’s Lindsay Lohan in a skirt:
http://www.starstyle.com/lindsay-lohan-london-pic155250.jpg
Miley Cyrus in a skirt:
http://trendfashionz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Miley-Cyrus-2014-Best-Fashion-Style-663×1024.jpg
Rihanna in a very long skirt:
http://www.hawtcelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/rihanna-at-2014-pre-grammy-gala-in-beverly-hills-1_6.jpg
Tila Tequila in two different skirts:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/tila-tequila-wears-nazi-uniform-praises-hitler-shocking-rant-article-1.1543467
Etc.
Oh, and Craig Ferguson in a skirt:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/chilene/craig_ferguson_01.jpg
Prince Charles in a skirt:
http://i1.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article1835671.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/15940519_The-Prince-of-Wales-known-as-the-Duke-of-Rothesay-when-in-Scotland-chats-with-children-fro-2-1835671.jpg
King James I in a full skirt:
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/exhibitions/KJV/pictures/big/JamesPortrait.jpg
Bugs Bunny in a skirt:
http://girlinthepinkprius.com/wp-content/uploads//2010/08/bugsho.jpg
The Rev. Ian Paisley in a dress:
http://cdn3.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/migration_catalog/article25746825.ece/e9d4c/ALTERNATES/h342/Ian+Paisley+
If you look closely at James, that isn’t a skirt- that’s his cloak pulled around him. Underneath he’s wearing ‘trunk hose’ and stockings. And heels.
So much more manly! 😆
King Jimmie may be commando
Well, now I know Bugs is a Christian. That made my day.
Sadly, Fugate lives right here in my town. Can I disown him, please? Or “separate myself from him,” at least?
And I’ve seen plenty of women in skirts around town. My wife wears them to church plenty of times. So does my daughter. You see plenty of stylish skirts in shops large and small all across the bluegrass. Go to Keeneland on a fine spring day, and check out how many stylish skirts and dresses you’ll see, as far as you can look.
I don’t know if it’s the fact that not all skirts meet fundy approval, or if it’s the fact that the skirts-in-question were being worn out and about on a weekday running errands, rather than dressing up for a special occasion. Or if this story is apocryphal. But other commenters here have a point – dressing overly modestly to draw attention to your supposed modesty isn’t exactly in the spirit of modesty at all.
I am sure there will be a lot of skirts at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. Who knew so many Christians attended?
yes, because as Jesus stated, “they will know you are my disciples by the length of the skirts your women will wear. As I have loved you, go and make sure women are not in pants.”
Too many fundy pastors spend too much time trying to get women out of pants.
I would have thought that they were trying to get _in_ them…
^_^
Your version of that verse just made my day! They’d never say it, but that’s their ideology right there. I may have to restrain my laughter this Sunday!
That’s nothing. Until a few months ago I had long hair and beard. I’ve had people come up to me and ask me if I was Jesus. So there.
Once a guy came up to me to ask me for a dollar. He had a Solo cup full of beer in hand, and had obviously already finished off several. He squinted at me and poured out his beer. “You look too much like Jesus, man.” I said, “Thou fool! Knowest thou not that I have given thee all good things to enjoy?” I gave him a dollar anyway. He probably just went and used it to replace his squandered beer.
I really want that to be a true story.
It would’ve been cooler if you’d waved your hand & magically replaced the spilled beer, instead of giving the guy a buck.
Or turned his beer into more beer! Multiplied the beers and the fishes!
Verily, verily, my little children–seekest thou me only for my miracles? Behold! I givest thee money. Purchase thine own beer.
Nah, man. Only grape juice. Thou shalt not drink alcoholic beverages. First Opinions 1:1
^^
Love it.
Reminds me of when I went to a comedy club with about a dozen of my friends, all guys, most of us fairly clean cut, back in college. Sadly, all dateless at the time – typical guy’s night out.
The one not-so-clean-cut of my friends, a guy with long, straggly hair and the start of a beard happened to be sitting somewhere in the middle of our group, which got us made fun of all night by the comedian for being “the last supper.”
I have a physical disability which necessitates a pants-only approach to life. I figure if someone is too shallow to see beyond the-feminine-pant sets that I wear to work and church, it’s not worth wasting the time to justify my fashion choices.
He was being polite – what wanted to say was, “I see you are all frumpy, but definitely not bohos”
Number one indicator of a christian to the world: skirts. I would call that a failure on the part of Christians.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye wear socially inappropriate clothing in public places.
John 13:35 (King James Modified)
Excellent point.
In total agreement !!
I can identify fundies by the way they dress. It makes me feel so sorry for them, especially when I see little cookie cutter children with them.
This was us, growing up. Little homeschooled conformist children all in a row.
Last year, I was with the fundy branch of my husband’s family. My little niece, who was 4 and has been in dresses since she was a baby, leaned over to me and whispered, “Girls don’t wear pants.” I was wearing jeans at the time. Poor thing…I think she was truly confused.
Even worse, some members of my old church had a little girl who was about 3 when the mom stood up in church and tearfully told how God had convicted her about letting her daughter wear pants. After that, the child was always in a dress. If she acted like a normal child–playing, rolling around on the floor, etc.–she was punished for showing her legs.
We used to sit in the front of the church to prove a point that we were more spiritual than the people that sat in the back. My little skirt-clad sisters used to roll around during the long IFB sermons and would frequently flash the preacher.
Oh, and since he said “you are all wearing skirts” this is all I can think of: http://images.wikia.com/community-sitcom/images/archive/8/80/20130214082131!Pelton_in_green_dress.jpg (let’s hope that links)
Howard Stern in a really ugly dress?
If the story has any truth to it, it was more likely , “Are you IFB legalists?” And, since according to Fundies they are the only true Christians, it was the same question to him..
A lot of my skirts are either too loud or too short (by fundy standards) to qualify as modest. Nothing says out of Fundystan quite like my short, leopard-print pencil skirt. Not to mention my low-cut top, cuff bracelet and choker necklaces. And really high heels. Peep-toe, no less.
Peep-toe?
Tramp.
;op
Yup, that’s me. And I forgot about my big earrings and garish lipstick.
Well to the rest of the universe that is just called “getting ready for your day”…
I suppose that would depend on what one is doing that day. That’s certainly not my attire for the gym.
I’m sure you wear culottes and a 1980’s era sweater to the gym, right?
That is the attire requirement for flight attendants.
Dr F, when I go to the gym I wear tanks with straps that are more fettucine straps than spaghetti straps, and tight workout leggings that are about as far from modest as my aforementioned too-short skirt.
I always heard stories like this growing up. I believe a large portion of them are lies. Nobody ever looked at my family as anything but a little touched in the head.
I had a good [female] friend that attended MBBC…she hated the fact that they were forced to wear skirts whenever they went off campus. She knew anyone from the school was identifiable as such just from their attire and felt like people looked at them “like some kind of weirdo.”
The grocery store lady asked if we were Amish.
I see a lot of Pentecostal women wearing skirts too.
But I agree with….someone further up, that there is a very distinct style with MOST of them. I know several very classy dressers. It’s the girls that are the dead give-aways though. Plenty of modern women wear skirts/hose/heels in office jobs and the like, but it’s very rare to see teenage girls in ankle length (or even worse, calf-length), straight denim skirts. You can be casual and modest in plenty of other ways, that’s just not a good look (imo).
I did have to laugh watching the Buffy series from the 90s, because she wore a lot of long, straight, floral skirts to class. Cannot stand the look!
I have to say that I kind of like the idea of people assuming I am Christ’s because of how I dress.
I tend to think, when I see women in a dress or skirt, that they are Christians.
I don’t really find anything offensive in this tweet; he didn’t demand that everyone do what he does (although he probably does preach that).
“I have to say that I kind of like the idea of people assuming I am Christ’s because of how I dress.”
No doubt that’s this woman’s position, too:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dFXxJc5V3wk/TH7s8wT0XnI/AAAAAAAAAAs/Nv0jucJ9d7A/s1600/katy-perry-topless-for-esquire-magazine-uk.jpg
Seems that Katy is from an IFB background?
She was raised strict evangelical, but it doesn’t appear to have been IFB.
Her first album (under the name Katy Hudson) was of Gospel music.
Yes, but it wasn’t exactly IFB-style “gospel” music (a/k/a Gaithers minus the percussion). It was pretty bland CCM, from what I understand.
Wouldn’t you rather people assume you’re Christian by how you act rather than how you dress? I know lots of people who dress the part but I wouldn’t give them two cents for their brand of god.
Well, certainly, but what would set a Christian apart in his behavior (and we’re talking about among strangers in public)?
Certainly, I wish my behavior to honor God, but unless something happens that needs Christian grace, most people seem to behave pretty decently, so there isn’t much of a difference in that way.
I personally don’t want to be part of a religious group that dresses drastically different from the rest of society. If all you have to offer is a different wardrobe selection I’m not interested. Behavior is more important than your clothes.
Part of me finds being identified as a Christian by the clothes I wear to be comfortable and reassuring, but I think that’s more the tribalism of it, my identification with a group, my having a place to belong and publicly signifying it.
For me, though, it comes with a little baggage. It’s so easy for me to slip into feelings of spiritual pride, of superiority and arrogance when I rely on my clothes to set me apart. (Not so much when it’s just me on my own, but when it’s my whole family, boys in khaki pants and polos and girls in long skirts — a whole family dressed that way really grabs people’s attention.) Not only am I tempted to self-righteousness, I am also tempted into spiritual laziness, forgetting to identify with Christ through my other behaviors because I’ve got on my “holy clothes.” (Of course, there may be some people whose attire prompts them to be humble and gentle and gracious, but I’ll admit that this is not always the case.)
Lastly, I’m not sure dressing this way is a good testimony at all. Yes, some people might look at me and think, “That family must be Christian”, but does anyone looking at us think, “I’d like to be one too!”? It’s sort of like seeing Amish or Mennonite people or, around where I live, Orthodox Jews or Muslims. I can identify them by their clothing, but I have no desire or interest to be part of them. My goal in life is not just to identify myself as a Christian but to share Christ with others. If my clothing style sets me apart, isolating me from my community, I think it is a stumbling block.
(I do respect people who chose to dress conservatively or sedately — modestly in every sense of the word — but I don’t think the typical fundy female look of jean skirts and Keds does that. I think it rather draws attention to itself, when I want myself to decrease but Christ to increase.)
Good words, pw!
My son has “holy clothes.” He’s at the age where he keeps sliding on his knees everywhere, and we can’t keep them from ripping to shreds.
Seriously, though, I agree with all your points. When I see sects that dress not just modestly, but aggressively different from the culture around them, I can’t help but almost rolling my eyes at them. They may not realize it, but the image they’re projecting is one of drawing attention to their own works, their own righteousness, their own difference. It’s anything but modest.
I agree that one could become proud about being different.
The Bible does have a lot to say about how we dress, and I agree that we should not try to draw attention to ourselves. But as the world slides farther from God, Christians who dress modestly are just going to stand out.
It is interesting that in Dr Fulgate’s part of the country, people seem to associate skirts/dresses as Christian attire — he didn’t say that — someone else did.
I’ve never had the temptation that I could be un-Christlike because I’m wearing “holy clothes”.
I don’t mind being set apart by my clothing, but you are quite right to say that it is not an end it itself; the different dress may draw attention, but the gracious, Christ-like attitude should be what people want.
“But as the world slides farther from God, Christians who dress modestly are just going to stand out.”
Today I’m wearing grey jeans and a black turtleneck top. It’s modest and I’m not standing out.
My point being, I don’t have to wear a certain kind of skirt and look different from the crowd to be a modest Christian.
Dressing differently from outsiders is one of the marks of a cult. It is just another way of separating ‘us’ from ‘them’.
Anything that creates a divide is not going to help us be salt and light in the world.
GR, the Bible may (perhaps) have a lot to say about how we dress, but it has nowhere near as much to say about the topic as the fundies think that it does. (FWIW, every single Bible verse that mentions clothing is not part of some vast Biblical scheme to give us little clues, one tantalizing bit at a time, of how we are “supposed” to dress. Most fundy teaching on clothing involves LOTS of teasing meaning out of passages about clothing that are descriptive and NOT prescriptive.)
Well. Said. VERY well said!.
I can see the appeal of tribalism via dress, but since I left fundystan, I’ve worked really hard to make my behaviour the difference. Even down to being very careful with my driving because of the bumper stickers on my car.
Maybe it was a very windy day, and the skirt wasn’t what the man was talking about seeing…………….
Every good and proper woman of Fundystan wears bloomers under her skirts to prevent a man from seeing her legs should the wind violently gust.
He didn’t tweet the part of the story where the man fell to his knees saying “what must I do to be born again ?”
I’m sure a follow up tweet is coming where he will be at church on Sunday to be baptized.
Anyone shopped at http://www.1611skirts.com ? I highly recommend you go there if nobody says you look like a Christian this week
I definitely think the skirts-wearing families are really doing so today to just identify themselves to other fundy families. It doesn’t really seem to be the testimony to the world that we were told it was.
Ha ha! Those dresses do not look like they are from 1611. Compared to the long dresses of the 17th century, these hussies are street walkers only wear skirts down to their knees. How immodest and unchristian!
Dutch style circa 1610:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rubens_isabella_brant_c1610.jpg
Now, if Fugate’s family were wearing THAT down the street, they’d surely get some attention.
And this would have been indecently form-fitting and bareheaded compared to Real True Christian standards from just 100 years before that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lucas_Cranach_d._%C3%84._036.jpg
But note her (oh horrors) collarbones.
Even better- here is Katherine Luther- Martin’s wife: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Katharina-von-Bora-05.jpg
Men in tights. Cool.
@ Semp: Not to mention lace, ribbons, and embroidery. And fancy facial hair. And fetching hats.
And showing their arms! (Dear me, I have the vapors!)
Wear a respirator.
“He didn’t tweet the part of the story where the man fell to his knees saying “what must I do to be born again ?””
…and he told him you must Admit, Believe, and Wear Skirts.
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t tell a man to wear a skirt. Then again, I’m sure there’s been more than a few cross-dressing fundy guys.
Its probably not just the skirt. Its probably more like they just stepped off the set of Little House on the Prairie.
I’ve caught MoGs telling these types of stories and they are either untrue or twisted. I was with my old MoG once when someone made that comment only AFTER he gave them a tract, and they just happened to draw their attention to the skirts.
Story got twisted during the morning announcements (not sermon) to illustrate the important of a lady’s (not woman) ministry to be silent and wear a skirt.
Dear Pastor Jeff Fu[mi]gate:
When did you last see a fish in a tree?
Christian Socialist
I’ve seen fish in a tree, though not very recently.
There are a few fish species that live in swamps and are known to climb trees on occasion. The most famous are mud skippers and climbing perch. They climb up on tree roots and low branches or sloping trunks to feed on insects, and sometimes just to have a look around. They don’t climb super-high, but nonetheless they do climb out of the water on trees.
The climbing perch is even named for this habit (the “climbing” part of the name is true, but “perch” is not– it’s actually an anabantoid, not a perch).
Here are some mudskippers on a mangrove:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pkOjNaIXB8
If it’s not a perch…how does it perch on trees? 😛
It sits on its bass
Can I be the first Brit to say that these discussions always have an extra level of amusement for UK English speakers?
You’re not the first, but you’re just as right as the others.
Especially the part about wearing “pants,” which is what British people call the garment Americans call panties, briefs, underpants, boxers, etc.
I’ve been wondering about this for awhile:
What is the British equivalent of American “pants”? Or do you use “trousers” regardless of how formal or casual the clothing is?
American “pants” = British “trousers.”
I used to wear skirts only. I was asked if I was Pentecostal….Mormon…..Amish…. Just the fact that you are wearing a skirt does not automatically identify what group you represent.
Exactly. When I was still in Fundyland, with a closetful of ankle-length skirts, I once had a man say to me, “You look different. Is that a religious thing?” That’s the only time anybody came close to associating my clothing with Christianity.
I’ve said this before. This is the IFB male’s way of exerting control over the female. It’s marking her off as “his property” so other men won’t try to inseminate her.
Or fill her mind with improper ideas, like the horrible fact that due to us godless feminists, it’s completely legal for her to get a paycheck in her own name, deposit it in an account under her own name, and spend it as she alone sees fit.
Let them wear burqas.
This is one of those weird, non-sequitar, random IFB Facebook posts that I just don’t know how to process. Seriously – I don’t have the intellectual space to even interact with something like this. I could begin by asking simple questions like “who cares” “what’s your point” or “why did you feel the need to share this” but…I’m just not interested enough.
It really doesn’t take all that much intellectual space, Dr F, P.
(My doctorate is honorary)
Oh, come on, Dr. F, you know why he mentions it–
To let you know he’s holier than you are because he makes his women wear funny clothes.
(My own wife tells me she has been dressing herself since she was about six, but Pastor Fuggit doesn’t seem to value that skill in a woman.)
Dr. – Your inability to process this post is called “conviction”. Get right with God and put a tie on.
On our public university campus, we see nearly all types of attire these days, short skirts, long skirts, slacks, shorts, short shorts, etc. but not long denim skirts. Everything but.
Haha same at USF, my campus
I’ve been working the last 15 years in China. When I first got here, in general (always exceptions to every rule, of course), the only women who wore skirts were prostitutes and pretty, empty-headed young girls in the business world who were advertising that they were willing to be your toy/candy/”personal assistant” in exchange for loads of money to the opportunity to get ahead. Decent women only wore pants–almost always only in dark colors, and usually in the old Mao suit style. All kids wore school uniforms, and all school uniforms were identical track suits (with pants only) for boys and girls. The only time you saw dresses or skirts otherwise was in uniforms for restaurant waitresses, which were often in the old flowing silk qipao style.
This has changed some as they’ve gotten farther from their Maoist past, but as a general principle it still holds, particularly outside the big cities. As a result, after a few years I had no skirts left at all. Just a few jeans and a lot of black/navy/grey trousers. I remember explaining to a, interestingly, non-Baptist fundy woman in America once who couldn’t comprehend that I didn’t own a skirt to wear to her church when I visited that “where I come from only whores wear skirts. Moral ladies always wear pants.” Telling her that, using that wording, was one of most fun things I’ve ever done. She nearly had a stroke on the spot, but couldn’t think of a thing to say.
Great experience of a different culture. Excellent.
Just further proof that not wearing skirts is an innovation of GODLESS COMMUNISTS and EASTERN PAGAN RELIGIONS.
“the only women who wore skirts were prostitutes and pretty, empty-headed young girls”
I have not been to China, but I did go to public school and pretty much everyone called skirts “easy access” attire
We were told in fundy school that only “mini skirts were made for easy access.” Direct quote from a male teacher.
That’s also said about all skirts as opposed to trousers.
I’ve mentioned this here before, but there was a rape trial in Italy a few years ago where a judge found the defendant innocent on the grounds that it’s impossible to rape a woman wearing jeans in a car. I’m happy to say this ruling led to a lot of justified public outrage in Italy.
A whole family of women and girls in long dresses around here is probably usually assumed to be Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, or some cult. Not too many IFB’s.
I don’t have any problem with women and girls wearing denim dresses or whatever. I can’t be the judge regarding their motives.
BG posted wome humorous pics of entertainment women-folk in various and sundry (yep, KJVing it) so-called dresses. I regretted opening the Miley Cirus link, but life goes on. I see the satire in it all.
It’s up to each family to decide what is appropriate for them. If they judge me harshly for what my family decides, so be it. I can’t help that.
When I was going through the line at the chow hall back at Davis-Monthan AFB back in ’85 I noticed that the cashier didn’t charge me for some SOS (that’s meat for you civilian-types) that was hidden under some mashed taters. I told him about it so he could ring it up. He then asked me if I was a Christian.
What, pray tell, is the difference, if any?
Of course, everyone should wear whatever they like. If that’s long skirts, fine.
The point is that Christianity gives you no solid grounds to judge people who wear something different, or to boast that your way is superior.
I see a big difference in being recognized for doing a good deed and in being recognized for wearing a uniform. But, again, wear what you like.
BG,
That’s the point I’m trying to make, SOS under the taters notwithstanding!
“The point is that Christianity gives you no solid grounds to judge people ”
Actually we could stop the sentence right there and be 100% biblically accurate.
Just in case anyone’s wondering– Miley is clothed in the picture I linked to. But she is still Miley Cyrus. There’s no avoiding that if you choose to look at that photo.
Davis-Monthan. Ah, so you were a Tucsonan for awhile.
A short while.
I was there for training before shipping out to W. Germany where a new GLCM base was opening…compliments of Reagan and “Peace Through Strength.”
It worked.
My mother used to LOVE being stopped and asked if she was a Christian because of the various pieces she used to wear from the 1982 frump denim spring collection. She once had a black man (gasp!) stop her in the grocery store and ask her to pray for him. That was the proof right there that her clothes were godly.
Only in fundy land does the results of a denim skirt end with “What must I do to be saved?”
Apparently, appropriate apparel appears to appease the pious person perched on their preconceptions regarding Christian proprietary.
Perfect
My husband and I were at the mall a few weeks ago, he was in Starbucks, I was waiting outside. Some fundies in skirts came and sat next to me. I texted him, “Fundy alert! Fundy alert!” He later told me he was debating whether or not to come out saying, “So about that great John Wesley/CS Lewis/Billy Graham. I wish he had. 🙂
My son will say out loud, “look Fundies!” while pointing if he spots one.
Not quite the reaction they want based on their clothes, I assume. Lol.
Next time we’re at the mall, I’ll tell them how nice they look then ask if they make those skirts in my size
Skirt…no. Kilt? Ok!
Apparently, that’s exactly the reaction Jeff Fugate is so proud of.
(Someone pointing and saying, “Look, Fundies!” I mean.)
Seems to be. Like someone said earlier Christian = fundamentalist to him, but not necessarily to everyone else.
i remember the only skirt days. when playing volleyball on our church team we had over skirt culottes made. if it wasn’t for the love of the game i would have never played. playing volleyball in those horrible things were more immodest and drawed more attention than playing in long shorts. i remember hearing so many times preachers saying what this guy stated and the response cause we’re baptist/ifb. when i wore skirts, i was asked if i were Mormon or Amish. i remember so many camps, youth conferences, guest speakers preaching and going into so many guilt trips for women to wear only skirts. I’ve heard some go into detail about how pants reveal and how zippers are arrows to point to certain areas.
“And because you wear such long modest skirts, I want what you’ve got” Said no one. EVER.
I’m sure someone said that to this dude – years ago my pastor’s wife said the same thing to me – she was in the store with her sisters and someone came up to them and asked them if they were Christians, because of how they were dressed.
I remember the first person I ever met who wore that kind of modest uniform. I was ten and she was another student and she always dressed in a way that reminded me of Holly Hobbie. She would sit out gym and when I asked her why she said that girls should not do sports. I became fascinated with her (I might’ve had a ten year old girlcrush), and we became friends. I’d stay over at her house and go to her church (not IBF). The weirdest part was she slept in rollers and I had to wear them as well. After we moved I heard that she married at 16. I still wonder how she’s doing.
All this is about modesty in wimmin. What about us men? What does that look like?
Wear an ephod and a tallis with tzitzit and tekhelet.
Isn’t it funny how fundy’s scoff at taking our cues for what a Christian should be from the world except in instances like this?
My fundy sister-in-law’s four kids were always dressed as if they were in uniforms……and they were homeschooled…….and this was even for visiting relatives. Khakis, polos (solid colors of course), jumpers for the girls (even the sister-in-law wears jumpers!).
My son used to call them “Children of the Corn.”