Personally I agree with everything Ms. Rey says and believe that we should help other girls be more influenced to think this way. But I'll let you decide for yourself.
In the video Jessica Rey talks about how bikini's were very looked down upon until around the 1960's. When the sexual revolution of women sort of stormed the country. Which is when women, who were tired of not being treated as "equals" and not being given fair treatment by men, decided that they'd had enough.
As a result of this there was a rise of "women empowerment" idealists who said that women should decide for themselves what to wear, how to act, etc.
But as Jessica Rey says in the video what they were doing was not empowering them but objectifying them before men.
Since then, over years of acceptance of that idea we are now in place where the objectification of women is not only accepted by society as a whole, but pressured onto young women as they grow, and condoned by the women themselves.
When some of the most popular songs on the radio today are ones like "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke or "Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo, then we know we're in trouble.
This objective way that a lot of men tend to view women ( and worse, the way women are proud to view themselves ) is very dangerous and perverts the way God originally planned for women and men to behave.
It really kills me that young girls ( 13,14,15 ) hear this music and see themselves in it. And I feel like us young Christian women aren't doing our job to help educate the people around us. The world is full of lies and it's our job to combat it with the truth, so let's explore the truth about how women should be viewed, by men and by themselves.
For the last few summers I've gone to a Christian worldview conference hosted by Summit Ministries. There we hear from a myriad of speakers on subjects about everything a young Christian adult may face in the current 21st century world that we live in. From abortion to eastern religions to homosexuality, etc. One of my favorite sessions though, is given by a married couple named Sarah and Barton Stone. At the end of each two week conference they separate the guys and girls, Sarah talks to the girls and Barton to the guys. Then they switch it up, Sarah goes and talks to the guys and Barton comes and talks to us girls.
The purpose is to spend a little while talking to specific genders about specific gender related purpose. Sarah touches on the objectification of women not just from men's point of view but how women see themselves as well. And the reasons why we've come to view ourselves in this way over the past half century. She then goes on to explain how God has taught her how we should be viewed as young women and how we should view the world.
First it is made clear that women and men are equal but unique. As in there are things women can't do that men can, and vise versa. The idea is that it's not a competition but a partnership. In which each has a specific role unique to their gender.
Her explanation of God's purpose for the female gender is this : women were meant to be giver's of life.
Now, before you start thinking that I'm about to go all, "Women should never leave the house and have twenty-five kids a piece!" Hear me out. I don't mean just physically, I mean in any and every way possible.
Think of the commonly used term, "This place needs a woman's touch!" Why do we say this? Because we know that most likely, a woman can and will walk into a situation, observe the potential and then bring out it's beauty. It is a natural, God given gift.
But this gift can be used with people, places, events, etc. And our physical ability to be the only gender which can bring another human into the world is another manifestation of that.
But how can we give life to others through our speech, our behavior, our dress if we see ourselves as objects to be used to please sexual impulses?
We can't. So you see the perverseness of this problem our generation has.
What's worse ( and I think far more if not just as tragic ) is that while Sarah talks of woman's ability to give life, Barton talks of men's ability to sustain and protect that life. Instead however, popular behavior says to do the exact opposite.
With my own siblings here at home ( because I don't have children yet ), I can never stress enough the importance of guarding our eyes. Because not only do we not want our little men to lust after a scantily clad woman, but we don't want our little women to get the idea that that is how they should behave in order to be seen as important, attractive or worthy of attention.
They need to understand first who they are in Christ. How precious they are to Him and how much He truly loves them. Then, where their place is in the world in relation to who they are.
So I propose that we throw out the idea of being sexy, and stop lending it our bodies to turn them into an object for men to gawk at and women to envy. And replace it with something like class, which brings to mind an image of a confident, dignified woman who is influential in every area of her life. Because let's face it, men are not going to respect a woman who does not respect herself.
With a heap load of dignity and self respect, a good portion of humility and a whole lot of seeking out the heart of Christ, we can change the image that women have gained over the years. And influence those around us to do the same.
Women perceive themselves as not good enough, because the ideas that society and the media present to us about beauty are unrealistic. So we spend our days feeling unworthy, because we know we'll never measure up. But what we're trying to measure up to is a computer generated image of a woman who's body only exists to look unrealistically "sexy".
The truth is, women are beautiful for so many more reasons other than their bust or waist size. And we drowned daily in a sea of images and lies that the world is ever ready to provide.
The idea of objectification as a good thing, as something that makes us feel worthy and useful and even powerful, doesn't help. Because not only are we being told we're not good enough and never will be, were also being told that the only value we have is as a sexual object.
This mold desperately needs to be broken.
Women are far too valuable a creation to be exploited and abused in this manner.
Often times when my sister's are going through difficult times and feeling alone, I give them this image to ponder :
Imagine yourself after a long, rough day sitting by yourself. Maybe your thinking about how you didn't measure up in a certain situation, or how you couldn't conquer something you've been trying to for weeks, or maybe your just feeling like you need a shoulder to cry on, and there's no one there. Then picture a man who is your best friend, knows you better then anyone in the world, and who would do anything for you. Picture him sitting down next to you, looking you in the eye and saying:
"You are more than enough for me."
"Yes, but who is this man?" They might ask. "Your Savior." I'd reply.
We can change this mold that the world has set for women. But it starts with knowing who we are in Christ, and understanding the depth of love He has for us.
So I urge you to forget about the world and their endless lies. If you believe that God created you than seek out what He has to say about beauty and worth. Only in Him will you find the truth.
Below is the video of the small lesson about modesty taught by Jessica Rey. Like I said before I know it's long but please watch, it'll give you a lot of insight on culture and modesty in relation to it. Below the video is also a link to her website were you can find very classy, modest swimwear, which is not an easy find nowadays. ;)
http://www.reyswimwear.com/
Great swimwear site!
These last three videos were done by the new Dove beauty campaign. While I would like to express that I don't necessarily agree with everything they support, I do think the material in the videos below accurately defines what I was speaking of above.
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