thoughts, whims, and delusions of a middle aged mama

Monday, March 09, 2009

How Do People Percieve the Dress of the FLDS?

I often see the dresses of the FLDS women referred to in negative ways.
Most people identify the dress of the Amish and their horse and buggies as quaint.

What's the difference?...not the doctrinal difference...but the perceptions?

28 comments:

Carol said...

There is little difference in the dress of the FLDS ladies and the Amish, Mennonites or any sect that wishes/requires modest dress.
The negative statements are only another way to disparage the FLDS. If the FLDS dressed in jeans and shirts, this would also be referred to as negative.

Anonymous said...

Carol, the men do dress in jeans and shirts, haven't heard anything about that being a negative yet.

Anonymous said...

No one cares what they wear, just what they do. If they would stop molesting children they could run around all day in bikini's and no one would care.

Ron in Houston said...

Well, for me, any sect that tells folks how to dress is way too controlling.

Personally, I find it hard to take folks seriously who submit to this. Yes, I understand it's a part of their faith, but I just find it hard to believe that God cares that much about what folks wear.

Besides, as to the Amish "quaint" is not exactly high praise and is what I'd call very much a loaded comment.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't bother me what anyone wears.But in the Hot texas enviroment, im surprised some of the women and children don't have heat strokes.

And guess what? Just because a female dresses modestly, doesn't keep men's thoughts about sexuality in check.

Anonymous said...

Public acceptance of the Amish and the Mennonite's carry's most of the weight, a muslim women in a burka
will probably never be acceptable to Americans, because obviously, she is hiding something, maybe even a bomb.

The "Hiding" factor was a major reason they attacked the Ranch, because obviously again, they MUST be hiding something since the don't publicly copulate.

I believe that once the "Trials" are over with and the lawsuits start bouncing from one end of Texas to the other, we'll see acceptance by the general public.
Never from within Texas, but then again, they're going to be too poor to care anymore.

:)) GB

Ron in Houston said...

While I agree nothing can stop the testosterone laden musings of the male mind, I for one certainly don't go "hubba hubba" when I see a woman in a prairie dress.

Then again, I have to restrain myself from going up to one of those head to toe covered Muslim women and tell them, "I see you!"

The things folks will do in the name of religion.

Jogger said...

My boss at work gives me a guideline concerning my attire. Does this mean that I should quit my job because my boss is "too controlling"?

The FLDS maintain a conservative ethic which spans through their entire lives. They wear modest, humble clothing, which is a mirror into the rest of their beliefs.

Personally, I feel that the negative comments come as a result of peoples' own ignorance. Most people, rather than learning about those things which they are not familiar, would rather judge than become enlightened. It's no different than any other type of political, religious, or racial persecution. It's shameful and disgusting.

TxBluesMan said...

Off topic.

Just FYI, Judge Conn has apparently decided to defer to Judge Walther on the admissibility of the search warrants. The Deseret News just announced that the Arizona motion to suppress will be held AFTER the Texas motions are heard...

Anyone taking bets as to how that will go?

Rose said...

We have never been told we have to dress this way or that way. It has been a suggestion but that is it. I got out of tight skirts and knit tops because I wanted to. I dresses like that for years, yes even in front of the prophet.
I started wearing "prairie" dresses because I wanted to. I was never told that was what we HAD to wear.
We have been taught all our lives to keep our bodies covered. That it is immoral to undress and show your bodies to the world.
I'm a mother, and it is very embarrassing to me to see a naked body. I'm sorry if that is offensive to anyone, but I don't tell them that's not the way to dress. It is a free country and I feel we can dress as we want without everyone telling us whats right or wrong and how we need to cover or uncover our bodies. We aren't trying to stop the men nor attract the men.
Besides, we don't want the "Hubba Bubba" type, we want the pure in heart.

Ron in Houston said...

Jogger

Seriously what's to become enlightened about? The particular chapter and verse used to justify why they dress that way?

Besides, you can dress up a skunk and it will still stink.

People adopt whatever form of religious dress to conform to the ethos of their particular sub-culture.

I agree that no one should make negative comments to someone who is dressed that way. Anyone who would make such comments is a serious jerk.

rericson said...

I've always thought that communities that dress very modestly, like the Amish, or the FLDS or R.C> nuns whose communities still wear habits, had certain advantages.
CErtainly there is the modesty component, but there is also the equalizing component. If everyone dresses similarly, it eleiminates jealousies and comparisons. It makes things much easier...
Then there is the cost effective side of it....in a world of ,limited dollars, the less one has to spend on clothing, particularly to remain "stylish" or "trendy", the more dollars available for important things....

Beyond that, I started paying particular attention in many of the pictures to the women's dresses....some of them have beautiful pleating on the bodice, some have lovely embroidery....there are all sorts of personal details that showcase creative talent without being outlandish or bragging...but very pretty....

And it sure eliminates lots of the problems with teenage girls fist feeling their oats...
And I have yet to see any picture of any young men showing off their boxers.....that I love!!!!

Pliggy said...

I wrote about this before:

This dress code doesn't make you a good person, but it shows that you "want" to be a good person. The way you want to dress shows who you want to be, and not especially who you are. It is the heart, not especially the details that God sees; though mostly they will be the same thing.

CSurge said...

Doesn't bother me what anyone wears.But in the Hot texas enviroment, im surprised some of the women and children don't have heat strokes.

Have you ever stopped to think that if you cover your body on a hot day (with light comfortable clothing), there's a lot less of you to get sunburned? Just something to think about. I believe it's more comfortable to be clothed in the summer heat, but I haven't tried the other option. :-)

suzie said...

I've tried it both ways. It is actually cooler with layers of clothes than naked getting your skin fried. After trying both I figured maybe the Arabs weren't so crazy after all. Light colors help deflect the heat better than dark.

Anonymous said...

ok, i'm from texas and i'll go for the less is better argument in the summer. it gets really hot down here. i think the prairie dresses with leggings and such is a little much from march through october in this neck of the woods.

RIchard Endwright said...

Suzie said:
"I figured maybe the Arabs weren't so crazy after all. Light colors help deflect the heat better than dark."

In fact, in conservative Arab societies the color is black, head to toe. But, facts don't really matter.

RIchard Endwright said...

The ability to explain full length polyester attire over full length leggings as superior for summer cooling is quite an accomplishment, congratulations. The sight of women standing on laterite soils holding hoes and trowels, and wearing full length pink and yellow attire is ludicrous.

Pliggy said...

Then close your eyes.

The neighbors I grew up with in downtown Salt Lake always wondered why we didn't "dress down" for the summer. And that question was answered every time they skinned their knee or elbow. Never mind the sunburns. Its called modesty folks, and a little MYOB for good measure.

RIchard Endwright said...

Pliggy said:
"Then close your eyes."

No thanks. That's a life style choice that is best left up to the FLDS.

Pliggy said...

0h, you mean MYOB is exclusively FLDS?

I was only trying to help you out of your ludicrosity. I apologize, I didn't want people being modest to upset your well being. But the FLDS will certainly not be dressing down to help you out.

RIchard Endwright said...

Pliggy said:
"0h, you mean MYOB is exclusively FLDS?"

Read before you respond. It was your recommendation to "close your eyes" if you don't like something that is best left up to the FLDS. They are already too good at it.

As for modest dressing, despite your belief that the FLDS has a corner on it, my whole family does it already.

We farm too. And I'm already in complete agreement with you. If you want to try to work wet clay soil in long pale colored polyester clothes, I agree, that's your buisness too. So you see, we already agree on all these things. You would have seen that, if it weren't for the habit of closing your eyes.

suzie said...

Really guys,

I'm one wearing the long dress with pants and who knows what else underneath. If you don't believe me you can try it yourselves. I was in CA one time, hot as the very hubs and humid. I thought I'd get away with a little lighter clothing burden and slipped some of the stuff off. I GOT A LOT HOTTER! I was a believer after that.

Ludicrous is in the eye of the beholder.

RIchard Endwright said...

"Ludicrous is in the eye of the beholder."

Well of course, Suzie. What else would it be. What makes perfect sense in your life might look completely laughable to someone else. Same holds true for us all.

Pliggy said...

Dear Richard,

I was not saying the FLDS have the corner on anything. I only said close your eyes because you said "The sight of women standing on laterite soils holding hoes and trowels, and wearing full length pink and yellow attire is ludicrous."

Now what is ludicrous about the sight? Ludicrous means "provoking or deserving derision". If the sight is causing you to say it is ludicrous", then the only solution for you is to MYOB (close your eyes). There is no other alternative regarding how someone else chooses to dress, or why they do it.

RIchard Endwright said...

Pliggy said:
"then the only solution for you is to MYOB (close your eyes)."

No my dear Pliggy. First there is no solution needed, because there is no problem. Well I suppose one could say that any response to any situation could be viewed as a "solution" if one views the world as problematic (which I concur, it is in many ways.) In this case, the best "solution" to a ludicrous impression is to laugh, with one's eyes wide open. Thank you for providing the opportunity.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that so many commenters write off the FLDS dresscode as a means of being modest. There are many ways of being modest that don't involve harking back to the nineteenth century. A rigid dress code is designed to enforce group cohesion-- whether its military uniforms, team uniforms, or religious garb-- and to set up an us-versus-them dynamic with the rest of the world.

Diesel said...

All you who are whining about the modest FLDS dress code *cough* RIchard Endwright *cough cough* you can go back to looking at porn on the internet. Nobody cares.

I can vouch for it being more comfortable wearing clothes while working and unless you've tried it you really don't have anything to talk about here.

I don't really get how people compare our "prairie dresses" to the Amish dress code as they are night and day different. I would guess that there are over 100 different styles of dresses that the ladies wear here and there are more coming out every day.

About Me

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First I am a mother, and grandmother....that is probably the single most important aspect of my life. Then I am a family advocate for a large, national advocacy organization. I work primarily in "systems advocay", helping to identify needs and change policies in children's behavioral health. And I love my dogs, my garden, my pond and fish, and trashy murder mysteries and the occasional shot of good scotch.... Fell free to post a note in whatever the most recent entry is...I love meeting new people!

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