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Types of Clothing
There are two types of clothing which the Bible discusses. They are (1) the attire of a harlot,
and (2) modest clothing. Harlots knew how to dress in such a fashion that they were recognized,
according to Proverbs 7:10. Read Genesis 38. Tamar knew exactly when she was ready to do
what she did. She put off the clothing she was wearing and put on other clothing which
advertised her as being something completely different. She was quite aware of that and
everybody else was also.
We may as well wake up and be aware of these things in the time in which we live. There is one
question I have never been able to answer for myself: "How would one recognize a harlot
today?" We have lived to see the day when such people- have become the fashion setters of
our time! Mini-clothing, which has been accepted by so many, has been described as being
symbolic of those who want to seduce another -- which is what harlotry really is. And may I point
out that the one who described mini-skirts in this way is the lady who created them, Mary Quant.
Your outward appearance projects YOU tremendously!
Maybe you are saying, "Why all this emphasis on the woman instead of the man when speaking
about modesty?" The best answer I know to that is...God put it there! I am not saying that men
and boys are not to be modest. I would like to highly suggest, as I have already mentioned
concerning swimsuits, that a boy or man going about shirtless or with skin-tight clothes is not
doing anything to enhance his Christian image, I guarantee you! Such a person needs to keep
in mind that in the garden of Eden, though they were clothed about the mid-section, God said
they were naked. Please don't forget that. God knew the physical and mental make-up of man
and woman, and so far as modest dress is concerned, God placed the greater responsibility
with the woman to control the situation. He knew what He was doing!
Clothing and Sex Identification
We have already noted the connection between clothing and modesty, but there is a connection
between clothing and sex identification. When a child is small we dress him in such a way that
he begins to take upon himself an identity. Clothing is for protection, utility, status and
ornamentation..."adorning" is the main idea in every race and culture I considered. But there is
one other big one and that is sex identification. It helps a child identify his sex. A little boy
dresses like his daddy, not just so he can look like his daddy, but so he can immerse himself in
daddy's masculine world and activities. So it is with the little girl. She is dressed in a dress as a
little girl and is brought up in a feminine world where she can be immersed in the world and
activities of her mother. This brings distinction between the sexes. One of the most deeply
ingrained codes in the various groups and cultures I studied was for a boy to understand he is a
boy and a girl to understand she is a girl and for them to play --and dress-- those roles. That
was something insisted upon.
There is a thing called transvestism and for lack of a better term I will use it. It just simply means
trans-vest; one sex wears the clothing of the other sex. This was strictly taboo in every culture I
considered. There were some distinct feelings and laws against the male dressing as the female
and the female dressing as the male. There are such laws in this country although they are not
strictly enforced which is quite evident. I do understand, however that men are si ill 01 rested in
various places for dressing themselves as women. Laws and civil codes insist transvestism is
wrong. Let me give you the reason. They said it was to preserve moral and political and social
order. However, the main reason these things were at one time written into the laws of various
states is that transvestism increases homosexuality in both men and women. They made it into
law because they saw the problem and knew they had better deal with it.