Girl Power

If you’ve been on the internet this week, you’ve most likely seen a) the video of the swimsuit designer giving the history of the female swimsuit b) the video of Miss Utah’s jumbled up answer to the question about women receiving unequal pay or c) both of them.

If you answered “C,” the rest of this blog entry may make sense to you. If not, get to YouTube’in.

In video “A,” Jessica Rey explores the history of the bikini in a very interesting way. She even throws in some science to show us what happens when the male brain sees an immodest woman:

“Brain scans revealed that when men are shown pictures of scantily-clad women, the regions of the brain that are associated with tools, such as screwdrivers and hammers, light up," Rey said. "One professor said, 'It is as if they are reacting to these women as if they are not fully human.' "

The video is 8 minutes long—but in summary—women’s attempt at power and equality is being undone when they allow their clothing choices to dictate how men see them; that women aren’t helping in the whole objectification battle. [Disclaimer for later on: I agree with this and found it interesting].

Now let’s skip to lighter reading: Oh, Miss Utah. The question posed to her was:

“A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?”

The transcript?

“I think we can re… relate this back to education, and how we are…continuing to try to strive to… figure out how to create jobs, right now. That is the biggest problem in… I think, especially the men, are, um… seen as the leaders of this, and so we need to try to figure out how to… create education better so that we can solve this problem.”

And just like that, Miss Teen South Carolina and her South Africa maps are off the hook.

Here’s my futile attempt at tying the two together and exposing my beef with both of them.

We wonder, as a society, why young girls grow up confused; why they feel the need to dress provocatively; why they can’t seem to grasp their value.

Maybe it’s because the only thing they learn in a girls-only Bible class is how to keep boys from sinning; maybe it’s because they don’t even know the redemption of Esther, Ruth, Rahab and other women in the Bible. Maybe it’s because we worship physical beauty while simultaneously linking it with public stupidity.

Maybe it's because we say to them: Do you want to be an outspoken feminist or do you want to be June Cleaver?

I was sitting in a co-ed Bible study one time and the topic of female modesty came up. Several of the guys chimed in with various versions of, “You need to stop making it hard on us.”

Having been a youth group intern the previous summer, I felt the need to respond. It later gained me a nickname, but that’s the risk you take in boldness.

“I worked with teenage girls last summer,” I started. “When they set foot in a classroom, they rarely take out a copy of the Bible. They take out the latest book, usually with a title like, “Hot Girls,” where they mainly talk about boys.

“But at the end of the day, when the girls are getting on the youth group bus to go to Six Flags, they know who the Christian guys want to sit by; they know who the guys are going to talk about to their friends; they know who is going to get asked out on a date. And they know that it’s not little Miss Margaret with her turtleneck on. So if you want them to help you; if you want them to dress modestly, reward it. Tell the girl with the one-piece on that she looks pretty. Ask out the girl whose face isn’t masked in Maybelline.”

Laughter happened, some “Amens” resounded and I was later known as Little Miss Margaret to a select few.

But really, people.

If you want girls to think deeply, if you want girls to speak about intellectual things; if you want girls to grow spiritually, we can no longer sit around and stunt their growth. We can no longer minimize their Christian responsibility to the length of their in-seams.

This isn’t a knock on modesty; this isn’t a “Shame on you if you made fun of a beauty pageant.” It is simply a challenge for positive change. It is a call for people to—for once—lend the girls a helping hand.

Perhaps when we preach what it really means to be a woman; the vastness; the uniqueness; the possibilities; maybe then girls will want to take hold of the power they’ve had in their possession the whole time.

Until then, they will continue to barely make it through answers they’ve memorized rather than seize the opportunity to express individual thought.

And if you don’t believe me, ask Little Miss Margaret.