Observing Social Behaviors: Modesty
As I’ve mentioned before, I am by no means a psychiatrist (or psychologist, or sociologist, or… well, you get the idea). I don’t even have any formal education in any of these areas. However, I have observed several patterns in social behavior and elected to comment on what I have observed.
Because I am a college student and work at the college, I spend several hours every day on the college campus. As I walk around campus, one of the things that I have noticed is the way girls dress. I don’t want to sound sexist or demeaning, but hear me out.
By my guess, about half of the time the clothes girls wear at the college are fine — I wouldn’t consider them skanky, slutty, or otherwise unnecessarily revealing. (Do I sound like a conservative bigot yet? Just wait, there’s more!) Interesting enough, the ones who dress more appropriately are generally less trendy, stylish, and post-modern. Conversely — and I have noticed this particularly among recent high school graduates — the more trendy girls have a tendency to wear very short shorts (with huge belt buckles), huge sunglasses (indoors!), and shirts that expose their midriffs.
This social behavior isn’t exactly surprising. Some girls dress more nicely, while others dress in a more revealing manner. That’s their decision, and it isn’t my job to tell either of them how they should or should not dress; and besides that, the eye-candy isn’t too bad on campus!
What I have observed that I find one part humorous, one part curious is the tendency that girls who wear shorter shorts or tighter t-shirts to reach behind themselves and tug on their clothing, as if to cover their exposed skin. I find this funny because, well, if you don’t want people staring at your butt or stomach, you should probably wear clothes that actually fit! The curious part is that, despite her supposed modesty (evidenced by her subconsciously realizing she is showing too much skin and trying to cover herself), a trendy girl doesn’t seem willing to give up the way she dresses in order to rectify the bothersome task of frequently tugging on her clothes. Is it simply that they don’t realize it consciously, or are they too determined to show off their goods? Do they feel compelled to adhere to what they consider societal normality? Certainly most of them are not dressing this way because they are, in fact, sluts; if that were the case, they would not react modestly in public by tugging their clothes to hide their exposed skin.
Has society conditioned young girls to treat themselves in a way that they would ordinarily be opposed to so that they can fit in or be more immediately assimilated into society? Is this just the next step of the American cultural evolution that started with flappers in the 1920s nearly a century ago?
This is just one of many social behaviors I’ve observed. There are others, and if you read my pointless musings from time to time, you’re liable to come across more of them. Feel free to discuss your thoughts on this topic in the comments. I’m not seeking an argument, but healthy discussion, so please don’t think that I am saying anything sexist, hateful, demeaning, or otherwise unfair.