Head coverings

A very thoughtful (and thought-provoking) piece at Amazing Grace today on her expeience donning the hijab while in the Middle East.

 

A little snippet:

...the experience was an enlightening one in many ways.  I did not find it 'oppressive', but liberating, and, in some ways, quite seductive.  Dressed in this manner I became, in the eyes of my hosts, something I am, namely a respectable woman who is not interested in sex with strangers.  Dressed in my ordinary clothes, which are, I can assure you, in no way outrageous by the standards of twenty-first century London, I would've been a whore on the make.

I have read a lot about women's dress, modesty, head covering, and deportment of women in my foray through homeschooling, as well as in reading some Catholic authors, including bloggers.   I am, frankly, annoyed and upset by the private school girls down the street with their skirts rolled up and long white legs exposed, feet tucked into Uggs, in the middle of winter.  I want to shake them and ask "Why?".  I also want to shake their parents, the media, and ask why we let girls think that the attention they garner in this manner is attention they need.  And why they want it.  

A nearby neighborhood is home to a large population of orthodox Jews.  Really orthodox.  Odd shaped hats, fringes dangling below jackets, payot, hair coverings on women, and long black skirts.  For a while, I was a member of a women-only fitness club and there were a number of woment there who wore leggings under a skirt to work out, and kept their hair covered.  There is something oddly attractive about this visible display of modesty and holiness.  Alex mentioned once how much he admired them for displaying their faith so openly.  

I'm not sure what it all means for me, but it is certainly food for thought.