The so-called manosphere may be a tiny (if noisy) corner of the internet, but here’s yet another reminder that many of its, er, “values” are shared by people other than angry Spearhead commenters and NWOslave. Some of these people even have access to real power. At the Values Voters conference this week, at which Republican VP contender Paul Ryan gave a talk, a group called Modesty Matters distributed flyers whose text reads as if it had been cribbed from posts on The Thinking Housewife or the CoAlpha Brotherhood forum.
As ThinkProgress.org reports:
Modesty Matters criticized women for dressing “immodestly” at church, and blamed women for causing men to stare lustfully at them.
Women must “embrace MODESTY in dress and behavior,” one of the handouts read. Women dressed immodestly in church are “an insult to a holy God,” another said.
Some other choice bits highlighted by ThinkProgress:
From the “Modesty: It’s nothing to be ashamed of” pamphlet: “Since men are particularly visual, immodesty in church can trigger lustful thoughts.”
“My men’s bible study group talks frequently about controlling our lust, thoughts, and eyes. Yes the problem and responsibility are ours, but is it really reasonable for the women of the church to make it THIS difficult for us?”
From the “True Woman Manifesto”: “All women, whether married of single, are to model femininity in their various relationships, by exhibiting a distinctive modesty, responsiveness, and gentleness of spirit.”
Frankly, I don’t think women are completely responsible for all of this terrible immodesty.
Obviously, James Brown deserves part of the blame as well. Here’s footage of him lobbying congress on the controversial “hot pants” issue:
Mum bought me some jeggings once.
I have never worn those jeggings.
I hate the feel of skinny jeans, why the blazes would I wear jeggings?!
@Creative Writing Student- I’m pretty sure that fundies everywhere would be THRILLED by that idea.
I had never heard of jeggings before this. Why couldn’t you let me live in ignorance?
@M Dubz
Corpses cannot sin!
Unless it was a particularly immodest corpse. Then they would decry it for making necrophiliacs stumble. Except they couldn’t, because without brains they would also be dead.
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Which pretty much puts the onus on the fundies to stop being such Pharisees and get with the program.
I totally like that fundamentalist flip.
Men must wear their button shirts long and on the outside of their pants in case their impure thoughts cause them to bulge.
I cannot find the link right now, but within the last few months there was an article on the epidemic of sexual harassment and assault going on in Egypt, particularly in Cairo. Women are being yelled at and also groped/physically assaulted by strangers, frequently slut shamed for being outside. Men who were interviewed by the reporters for assaulting women wearing full coverings (I don’t want to mess up the word and call it the wrong thing; I don’t think women in Egypt wear burquas but it’s similar) said they knew the women wanted the attention because their completely head-to-toe body covering clothing was “too tight.”
So, yeah. Cover your entire body so that none of that tempting skin is showing? The assholes will tell you that the covering is too tight. There’s ALWAYS a way to blame women for the werewolf boner if you want one.
Also speaking of things men wear that make me slip up? T-shirt and sweatpants:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9dvw14Yze1r27y91o1_500.png
Well, when worn by Chris Evans anyway. 😉
drst, was this the story?
Considering that three of the biggest porn-watching States are also among the most religious (and I use that term loosely), I have some doubts that the way the women of the church dress is the biggest stumbling block for the men to control their lust, thoughts and eyes.
Hey, comrades, I have the solution!
Remember: Modesty glasses (blurring the vision of TEH MENZ) now exist:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/ultra-orthodox-jews-blurry-glasses_n_1757338.html
All these guys need to do is slap these glasses on, and their souls are safe from sin.
Of course, depending on how blurred their vision is, they might walk into an occasional wall, or into traffic, but if they die, they DIE WITH PURE THOUGHTS IN THEIR MINDS!
Some men just don’t want to take responsibility for their boners. So they want to cover women’s bodies so they don’t become aroused. That pisses me off. Your boner? Your problem. Now fuck off.
Well, at least they’re approaching the problem from the right (if slightly… strange) direction.
@cloudiah – YES. Thank you. I don’t know why Google wasn’t bringing that up.
The article states, in part:
“Up for” being assaulted, remember. Putting your hands on another person, especially in a private area, is assault, at least under US law (Egyptian law may vary widely, I’m not an expert).
ithiliana: Ah, but if a man wearing such glasses did die, women would still be blamed, because it’s our fault he felt the need to wear them in the first place. If we didn’t dress like strumpets, men wouldn’t have impure thoughts about us. So, when you think about it, every fucking thing that’s wrong with the world is our fault.
I thought the problem with the blurry glasses would be that you might not realize that thing you’re looking at is an ass until it’s right in your face, and then you’d be staring at an ass up close.
So on topic
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6420466/the-problem-with-jeggings
By the way, to all of the Jewish Manboobzers- Shanah tovah u’metukah! May your New Year be filled with health, joy, loved ones, humerous trolls, and adorable kittens.
@M Dubz,
שנה טובה
(Did I do that right?)
Shade, that milk ad with the thumb-kittehs was hysterical even without sound! 😀
I love Busty Girl Problems.
I was lucky to have a family that didn’t think that big boobs are shameful and to be hidden, but didn’t pressure me to display them any more than I wanted to either. My family is very practical – we all have pretty big boobs, it’s just genetics, so you may as well just invest in good bras and embrace the way you’re built. If the sight of my cleavage disturbs some guy who’s trying not to think sexual thoughts, well, maybe he should stop staring at women’s boobs, and learn to avert his eyes if it’s going to upset him. Or he could accept the fact that sexual thoughts are natural and not something to get upset about, his choice really. What is not a valid choice is for him to try to change the way 50% of the population dresses just because having sexual thoughts makes him feel uncomfortable. V necks and scoop necks are the most comfortable necklines for me, so that’s what I’m going to wear (I will wear turtlenecks sometimes, but only if it’s cold and it’s a sweater – crew necks tend to hang oddly on me). Half of the population either has boobs or will have boobs at some point later in life, so if a particular man finds that difficult to cope with…I dunno, man, maybe ithiliana’s modesty glasses when outside and working from home would help?
On jeggings, however, we can all agree. They are not pants, they are pyjama bottoms made of denim, and why would anyone want to wear their pyjamas outside?
(Skinny jeans I like, on account of how they’re nice and easy to tuck into knee boots.)
Totally random, but did everyone know that there is a creature called the pyjama shark?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyjama_shark
On jeggings, however, we can all agree. They are not pants, they are pyjama bottoms made of denim, and why would anyone want to wear their pyjamas outside?
Or worse, the black leggings that aren’t even pretending to be denim (the majority seen where I live). For me, it doesn’t matter how good an arse you have, it doesn’t look good when long johns are all you’re wearing over it! 😛
Slim jeans, however, can look terrific. I saw a woman this morning wearing jeans – not jeggings, actual jeans – that fit her almost like the proverbial second skin. She wasn’t uber-taut, she was a comfortable, complete-with-bumps woman, and she looked great.
I shot a shark in my pyjamas once…