Religion: The Virgin Of Gudalupe
One religious figure who shows a great deal of modesty is the Virgin of Gudalupe. To most people The Virgin is seen as an important role model for women, especially mothers, to look up to. Although she is normally seen as a positive figure there are some problems that arise because of the way she is portrayed. Worshipping a virgin woman as opposed to a more say promiscuous woman can imply that the only way to be close to god or ‘holy’ is to stay pure and untainted by sex. “Many women need to go through a spiritual clitoridectomy, in a sense of mutilating their lust to identify with the Virgin, get her approval of their behavior and never question the social and political order built around such religious ideology” (Althaus-Reid 49). These feelings
of unacceptance and alienation that many non-virgin women feel as a result of this virgin role model don’t do much to help the pro-modesty debate.
Goddess worship and feminist spirituality have a much more feminist based idea of modesty. Godesses are often seen as unclothed and exposed in an attempt to normalize the female body. Unlike modern day media, the bodies being glorified aren’t just these thin cookie cutter bodies that are seen as the idea. Goddesses are seen in all different shapes and sizes that are both natural and fictional. “In spiritual feminist art, vines twist about women's limbs, their eyes form pools of water, their hair mimics flowers, and animals sit on their laps or are born from between their legs.” (Eller 29) Exposing people to the naked female body is a definite rebellion against the common definition of modesty and many people embrace this but there’s no denying that it has some problems of its own. Although the intentions are good and exposed female body will always be sexualized by some people and in this sense it’s counterproductive. The “dangers arising from the representation of women and goddesses in feminist spirituality [one being] the perpetuation—however unintentional—of a long-standing tradition of objectifying women and reducing them to their sexual parts” (Eller 30). If there was some way to get rid of the objectification and over sexualizing of these Goddesses, then feminist spiritual would have a much stronger hold on the general public.
of unacceptance and alienation that many non-virgin women feel as a result of this virgin role model don’t do much to help the pro-modesty debate.
Goddess worship and feminist spirituality have a much more feminist based idea of modesty. Godesses are often seen as unclothed and exposed in an attempt to normalize the female body. Unlike modern day media, the bodies being glorified aren’t just these thin cookie cutter bodies that are seen as the idea. Goddesses are seen in all different shapes and sizes that are both natural and fictional. “In spiritual feminist art, vines twist about women's limbs, their eyes form pools of water, their hair mimics flowers, and animals sit on their laps or are born from between their legs.” (Eller 29) Exposing people to the naked female body is a definite rebellion against the common definition of modesty and many people embrace this but there’s no denying that it has some problems of its own. Although the intentions are good and exposed female body will always be sexualized by some people and in this sense it’s counterproductive. The “dangers arising from the representation of women and goddesses in feminist spirituality [one being] the perpetuation—however unintentional—of a long-standing tradition of objectifying women and reducing them to their sexual parts” (Eller 30). If there was some way to get rid of the objectification and over sexualizing of these Goddesses, then feminist spiritual would have a much stronger hold on the general public.