vlog: leave it to the french…

Jul 16, 2010 | 3,128 comments

The Puritans who spawned our American love affair with Victorian ideals would be rollin’ in their grave in 1943 when two Frenchman, Jacques Heim and Louis Reard, created the bikini. Prior to their artistic creations, women wore a variation of a culottes in dress form [I can’t believe I mentioned culottes. Sorry, I’m from the 90s.]

Since then it’s been a cultural battle to expose more and cover less.

Don’t believe me? While in France two years ago, I sat on a public beach with my sister and brother-in-law feeling like a PRUDE because I was in one-piece swimsuit on a topless beach. Yes, topless. It wasn’t a special beach for the nude, it’s the culture. But that didn’t mean I would join the party, if you know what I’m sayin’.

With that being said, modesty is more than what we wear. It’s a condition of our heart. I’ve seen immodest women fully covered yet exude coquettish, flirtatious, and sexual behavior around men. Modesty is deeper than our attire.

And if you see me at the beach and think my swimsuit high enough in the chest or low enough at the bottom, I’m blaming the French! 😉

  • Where are you from and what is acceptable?
  • Does your culture contradict the instructions of parents, spouses, or friends who tell you to put  more clothes on?
  • How do YOU handle the issue of modesty?

3,128 Comments

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    i know i'm late on this but i kinda think the comments about "helping a man sin" to be a bit off. It reminds me of the REASONS BEHIND WHY MUSLIM WOMEN WEAR BURKAS which i'm totally against the burka, niqua (sp?) etc. being imposed on women. the rationale being that women must be modest because men can't control themselves. It's cultural so why not change it why are we so uptight? in Europe everyone is topless and on the beach of all ages (i was there and so a 70 year old woman, i was grossed out. but then realized no other europeans cared..at all! she wasn't being teased, gawked at, she was comfortable enough with herself to do that. SHe wasn't feeling like she should go starve herself her be a size zero) I would hazard a guess that their divorce rates/infidelity rates do not differ from America.

    If we start going down that road of I helped a man sin by wearing this outfit, then we start going down the road of "you helped that man rape you for wearing a skirt/lipstick/being pretty/walking a certain way" sorry! as a Christian woman and a lawyer to boot i do not accept that the woman is culpable, it is the OFFENDER's fault. Some women are naturally exotic and stunning in the face, a 5ft10 thin model could wear loose jeans and a hoodie and all the men would stop and stare and covet her…by her having full lips, perfect skin beautiful hair and just perfect halle berry/kim kardashian/insert whoever's name face mean that she CAUSED a man to sin? should she attempt to be ugly? eat bad foods don't wash her face at night don't comb her hair, wear glasses?

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