I loved this! Very thought provoking, great post.

I'm not big on modesty, it's never been one of my convictions, but I don't wear bikinis or v-necks, and I try to stay away from really short shorts and skirts, I also don't wear skinny jeans that often simply because they aren't very comfortable in my opinion.
When I think about it, my crew necks do tend to dip a little low sometimes, but most of the time there's no cleavage showing, just my collar bone, but maybe I should be more careful.

I really like how Collin and Austin said guys are also responsible, I hate it when modesty movements just throw it all on girls to protect boys, when really boys should also learn to try to guard their thoughts and advert their eyes as well. It takes two to tango, kind of deal. After all, a lot of girls aren't modest in the slightest bit, and one cannot expect to force them to be up to one's standards, so adverting eyes and guarding thoughts during the summer and at public pools are important, we're trying to teach my little brother that.

One thing I kind of struggle with in the modesty movement is the whole "guys are more visual" part, and although that is probably without a doubt true, girls also sometimes struggle with shirtless guys and too-tight muscle shirts, so it can come off as a double standard when you're at a Christian pool party in athletic shorts and sometimes even an over sized t-shirt over your one-piece and half of the guys are shirtless. :/

I don't know, I get both sides of the discussion, and I'm kind of in between.

But anyways, great post, y'all!

I think modesty is important. Though I do think that sometimes people take it the wrong way and get the wrong idea of it.
I don’t wear bikinis simply because I don’t feel comfortable in them - actually I hate bathing suits just because I don’t feel comfortable in them. I wear sleeveless tops and at times my sports bra straps may show - and I don’t think that that’s wrong as long as you aren’t showing anything.
It was interesting to read the guys’ thoughts.. so thanks for posting this!
I think girls should dress for themselves - not to impress guys but in what makes them comfortable (as long as they aren’t dressed inappropriately). As far as leggings go I don’t wear them out in public - though I do wear exercise pants with a long top if I’m doing something athletic.
Our bodies are a temple and we should bring honor and glory to God through all we do.

Philip here--I left some comments on the Facebook post, and I thought I'd leave a slightly pared-down version of them here since not everyone here probably follows the Facebook group..

First, I want to say that I found Austin's response to the question, "But why modesty?" very satisfying to read. Particularly his choice of what Bible quotation to include.

When we view modesty in light of that passage, it explains the importance of the matter without making it an occasion for legalism, judging people for what they are or aren't wearing, or putting the blame on one sex for the opposite sex's lust. It just says, "Hey, you have Christian freedom to wear that! It's not unclean! But there are some Christians among you who don't see it that way, and [verse 14] to them it is unclean. Let's exercise our Christian freedom in a way that is consistent with our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ who have differing weaknesses or scruples."

Second, I wanted to offer a possible explanation for the divided opinions on issues such as leggings-as-pants: I think that at least partially, it's a generation gap.

Maybe it's because I grew up in a rather isolated small town, but I'd say that before the early-to-mid 2000's, this clothing style was almost never seen. Ladies would wear leggings in the same way they'd wear tights: OK to see them on the legs, but you still wouldn't want anyone to catch a glimpse up your dress since that part was considered underwear, not pants. Nowadays, of course, most women under the age of ~22-23 seem to have no inhibitions about wearing them as outerwear.

I think this generation gap exists because people tend to really start to understand modesty (and to feel like they need it) around the age of 5-6, and so that's about when they learn what kinds of clothing are OK to wear in front of other people. If a style became socially acceptable by the time they were that age, the new societal standard is the only "normal" they've ever known. This means people who were born around 1998 (give or take a year or two) went through that stage around the time leggings-as-pants became a "thing," so to many of them that's always been normal. A guy like me--just 10 years older--was already 15 by that point, so I'd already had awhile to learn what "normal" was, and as a result I'd gotten a somewhat different version of where the line is between underwear and outerwear. (I also am beginning to think it's possible that, at least nowadays, men and women of the same age are getting different versions of where that line is, but perhaps that's a different conversation entirely.)

Great.

I love this! Seeing what guys think really helps, because sometimes it just really does help to actually get someone's voice behind what I've read or stuff like that. I'm not necessarily big on modesty, but I don't wear shorts and swimsuits . . . so kind of??

(also, idea- I'd love to see a post about behavior, because I think that's more of a problem for me than dressing is. So like, how should we behave, and like hugs and that kind of stuff).

Great post, Kara!

I really enjoyed reading this and getting insight into some of what godly guys think about modesty. Thanks for putting this together, Kara, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! xx

Thanks for organizing this Kara, and to all the contributors! It was good to read honest thoughts on this topic. I think we can argue over standards and skirt lengths for years, but in the end everyone's conviction is going to be somewhat different and we're all growing. The most important thing is that our heart's in the right place - if we're connected to Him, He can prompt us on what to wear. But it is helpful to know what others think, and how we can be sensitive to our brothers and sisters. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! xx

"As men, we need to stop putting the responsibility for our sinful lust on how women dress" SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE MEN IN THE BACK COLLIN