Petition for a Dress Code

"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another."

I Thessalonians 5:11

If you're anything like me (although I hope you're not, there's a chance) and were raised in a conservative Christian home with a conservative Christian community surrounding you, you are no stranger to rules. Rules about how you speak, about how you address adults, about how you spend Sunday, and definitely rules about how you dress. I won't reiterate all of the homeschooler stereotypes, but if you're anything like me... you know what I'm talking about.

Today The Geneva Cabinet ran an article written by a friend of mine titled "Petition for a Dress Code." I don't think anyone claims an immense campus readership for the Cabinet, but this article caught some attention. "[It is] the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen" and "[the article] is growing from a condescending perspective" are among the comments I have seen so far. I want to respond to the article, but also to other students' assumptions about it. I don't think Aaron was saying what you thought he was saying.

1) The headline offered to the article was provocative and clearly garnered attention. However, if you take a minute to read the whole thing, you'll see that he says "Instead of pushing for a true dress code, I have been advised to ask for help from the ladies, to make your own dress code." He doesn't want the school to make more rules for us, he is simply asking us to think about what we're wearing.

2) I don't believe that what we choose to wear is value-free - I think that just like we decide to lie or not, or to cuss or not, or to scowl at everyone we see during the day, we cannot say that our clothes are just fashion choices. We can probably all agree that some clothing is appropriate in certain scenarios and not in others. So maybe he has a point about evaluating our wardrobe decisions.

That being said, here's what I'm thinking: I don't think that Aaron's letter told the whole story. If we're going to talk about appropriate dress, I'd like to see the other half of the campus population alerted to the fact that modesty is not just an issue for women. People don't often mention men's clothes because they have so much less variety, but maybe, like me, you would consider jeans two sizes too small, v-neck shirts that show off half your chest-hair, or six inches of exposed boxers a bit of a problem in the male wardrobe world.

Like I said, I don't think Aaron's letter told the whole story, and it's clear that this is a topic that pushes buttons for a lot of people, especially people who have been hurt by the judgment of other Christians in the past. But I don't think we can let personal prejudices like that blind us to two important things: First, treat Aaron with respect, because if you read his letter you'll see that he treats you (the reader) with respect. Second, instead of responding negatively, why don't we face the real question - as Christians, what are we saying with our clothes? Is it something we want to be saying, and is it glorifying God?

I'm not here to make a dress code, but I think that it raises a good question. How do you respond? How do you think we can edify each other, as we are told to in I Thessalonians, on this subject? And how can our apparel glorify God?

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do for the glory of God"

I Corinthians 10:31