Especially when small girls are covered.

I just remember the words of one of the Islamic priests or imams or however they are called, that men must sport beards so that other men are not made to sin looking at their clean beardless faces that resemble the faces of women.

This should be higher

Yes men should cover up too, if that is their culture ...who know how wild a man's hair will send us

So agreed.

I don't want to be s**t shamed for for wearing clothes that shows my shoulders. I hate this 'practice' so much.

Don’t blame women for inciting men

Woman.Life.Freedom!!! Zan Zendegi Azadi!

It's the same tactic the mob used: pay us and we'll protect you from us and others like us, only for "pay" read "dress in a certain way".

The idea of modesty necessitates the idea of immodesty, which somehow is always focused on women. Men can be “modest” by wearing a y-shirt and jeans so why should a woman need to wear special clothing to be “modest”?

I know we’re supposed to support religions where women are supposed to cover up, because often women will say it’s their choice, but I can’t help wonder if they’d been brought up in a kinder religion (or none at all) whether they’d still feel that way. I want to do the right thing by them but I don’t want oppressive religions to win.

Hear hear! Take my upvote.

I agree, women in such cultures are 1) powerless but also 2) so all powerful as to over power a man's morals, ethics, loyalty and religious devotion. Pick one. How a women dresses should be a woman's decision solely. If that woman is more comfortable or for her own religious beliefs dresses conservatively, that should be her right.

I 100% agree!! I hate that as well. Religion - any and ALL

Make the men wear blinders and see if they can control themselves then!

For anyone interested in getting a Muslim woman's perspective on this I highly recommend the funny and sometimes poignant comics by Huda Fahmy: "Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab" and "Huda F Are You."

On a similar note, the women who perform farm/landscaping labor in my area always cover themselves up completely no matter how hot it is in Florida. Hats, neck scarves, long torso, shapeless layers of long sleeved shirts. This is to stop the men that they work with from constantly verbally harassing them and making unwelcome physical advances all day long. It's even worse on the busses that transport them to the worksites. Men can be neanderthals no matter what the circumstances are.

I have a problem with describing Christianity's notions of modesty as if they are imposed only on women. I read all the time on Bored Panda about how misogynist dress codes are; when I was growing up, boys were forbidden from showing the slightest bit of ankle at school. Armless T-shirts were considered so low class, they were called "wife-beaters." Boys exposing a mid-riff might as well have declared themselves transsexuals. Things were different in the South, where customs had to bend to the circumstances of constant hot weather, but even in the North where these official and customary dress codes existed, some school days in June or "Indian summer" (I really don't want to know how racist that term was, but that's what a September heat wave was called) would still be 99 degrees and 90 percent humidity! There definitely was some sexism behind the SOCIAL enforcement of dres codes, but this was from macho losers, not from Christianity or Christianity's modesty's impact on what schools considered "professional."

Many ‘traditions’ that controlled women and their dress have not always been religious based. For example the old Chinese ‘tradition’ of binding women’s feet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

I want to agree, but I also dress modestly just because those are the most comfortable clothes I own. So, I'm not sure where I stand on this because I dress modestly.

Much of my family adheres to a fairly strict dress code for women and they don’t feel any negativity about it (and believe me, we have had talks about it regularly). The mindset is that they’re trying to make sure they’re modest because they want to please God. Those in my family that have chosen not to don’t agree with the others because they interpret things a bit different but even they don’t see it as oppressive.

I agree with all that's said, but am fixed upon the typo, "Pastafarian". That sounds like a faith I could probably sign up to!

In general, putting the woman, her clothes, her hair, her attitude, etc... as the source of evil, when the evil, in reality, is in the mind of the one who looks at that woman, her clothes, her hair, etc....

I totally agree,. Just replace the words religion or religious with the word community.

Often it isn't the religion. Many obscure and old passages will simply say 'modest' and don't say that your hair, face, entire body must be covered. This is entirely cultural to the country you are in. Many countries are majority Muslim and don't have such things but you'll also find Christian communities where the women's hair must always be covered and they must be covered from ankle to neck. This is NOT religious this is about certain communities forcing their women to act in such a way. Likewise there are young women in western countries CHOOSING this now. It's a tiny minority and neither their mothers nor grandmothers would have approved. But, if we ARE truly free, then we are free to cover up if we wish to as well. We see old timey pics of cops measuring the length of women's bathing suits on beaches and think it ridiculous - how dare they! Nowadays we see women in France banned from beaches for being covered. Men policing women's clothing doesn't equal freedom..

Give the women some credit they are well balanced,intelligent women who know how to go about their lives.Those of you so bothered about seeing a modest women in modest clothing need to do some soul searching as you are obviously deflecting your own insecurities or accountability.

I totally agree, but I also do think it's important to respect other cultures, so I find this a really tricky subject. On the one hand, I don't think bodies should be sexualised at all - everyone has one after all; we really need to decouple nudity from sex as the two are not the same thing. But I also don't think we should go telling other cultures how to dress (or not dress). Bit of a catch 22 for me.

Mostly, but if its truly voluntary why shame them. Perhaps they might feel uncomfortable otherwise? You don't know everyone's motivations.

Just maybe . .... when in Rome do as the Romans? Because 1. You are a guest in someone else's home, and if you don't like their customs you don't need to be there. 2. By dressing in a way that is sexually provocative (according to local customs), you are drawing unwanted attention to yourself. 3. You are making the local women uncomfortable.

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For many women, it’s a choice. https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/01/i-proudly-wear-a-hijab-forget-the-stereotypes-its-a-sign-of-style-and-strength

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Well done bored panda for creating a vitriol space for people to spew their hatred of women dressing according to what God has told them.

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I only have a problem with this when it is mandatory. If the woman is the one choosing to dress that way, SHE HAS A RIGHT TO IT. For you to demand that she dresses like a ho is no better than demanding that she dress like a nun. It’s in IRAN that the chador is a symbol of oppression, in a free county it’s a symbol of freedom of religion.

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