Yesterday a friend forwarded me an article in the Times of Israel, “My thigh length modest skirt.” In the article the author, Lottie Kestenbaum, points out how laughable it is that a woman who wears tight short skirts is considered to be more religious than a woman wearing pants –
“I think at this point we just need to laugh at how ridiculous the “modesty” situation in the Modern- Orthodox community (I can’t speak for other communities) is getting. Because I wear tight skirts which ride up several times an hour, I am labeled as more orthodox than the women who are wearing the dare I say it “P” word. Pants. Gasp.”
Of course, the tznius fallacy of the Hot Chani has been discussed in the blogosphere for many years. A Hot Chani is basically a woman who technically follows the requirements of modest dress, but in reality, her clothing is a sexy cry for attention. While technically, many women follow the letter of the law when it comes to modest dress, the spirit of the law often falls by the wayside.
The Times of Israel article brings up the debate about Jewish women being allowed to wear pants. There are two main prohibitions against women wearing pants. One is the prohibition against beged ish (wearing a man’s clothing – we are not permitted to wear the clothing of the opposite sex – men can’t wear women’s clothing either). The other problem is the prohibition against the visibility of the gap between a woman’s legs, and pants clearly define the separation of the two legs.
The first objection of begged ish is pretty much a mute point these days, because women’s trousers is an entire industry by itself. Most men would never buy pants specifically designed for women, because they are too feminine looking. The second issue of defining the gap between a woman’s legs is only a problem with tight fitting pants. There are many pants that are wide and don’t clearly define the legs, much like a skirt. In fact, (Hat Tip Tehila Perles) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that wearing trousers is preferable to wearing untznius skirts –
“Rabbi Yosef rules that the wearing of trousers by women is not forbidden on the grounds that women are forbidden to wear men’s clothing. Even though he has reservations about women wearing trousers, he believes that the fashion of mini-skirts is much worse; choosing the lesser of two evils, he instructs a school principal to permit girls, as a temporary measure, to wear trousers (YO 6, Yoreh De’ah 14).”
I decided to look up images of skirt styles that I often see orthodox Jewish women wearing (similar styles to those that I myself have worn) and compare them to images of loose fitting trousers just to see which I would find more modest.
Is this more modest….
than this?
Does this follow the spirit of tznius….
any more than these trousers do?
While this look technically makes the grade…
why is it any more modest than these culottes?
These looks skirt the upper limits….
yet these flowy, floor skimming slacks are forbidden.
I see this kind of denim skirt in my neighborhood all the time (or is that in my closet?)….
yet no modern orthodox woman would be caught wearing these slacks to the local kosher supermarket.
A summery look for a modern orthodox lady – maybe a little short but not so much that anyone would say anything….
yet, a few tongues would be clacking if she showed up to a shul barbeque wearing one of these numbers.
It’s interesting to know that we have less of a problem pushing the limits of modesty within the traditional boundaries, rather than adopting new innovations in clothing design that would offer us more options that still conform to the letter of the law. Even if it boils down to transgressing the laws of tznius with our skirt lengths, tightness, and styles, we still view it as a lesser violation than actually wearing pants. As I said, I am guilty of wearing some skirt styles similar to the ones I’ve pictured, so I am not judging. I just think that it’s important to bear in mind that those of us who push the envelope with our own “halachically approved” clothing shouldn’t look down our noses in religious superiority to those women who have taken the leap to wearing trousers.
