Deuteronomy 22:5 "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this."
Ah, once again I hit an issue that I'm not exactly sure how to take it. Or maybe I just don't want to be sure how to take it. I'm rather fond of my jeans, you see.
Okay, if I'm going to struggle with denial, let's at least do it intelligently. It does not say a woman can't wear jeans. *ahem* Nor does it say a woman must go around in a dress all the time. It says a woman shouldn't wear a man's clothing or vice-versa.
Would this be a very early reference to cross-dressing?
The form of "clothing" used here is actually not the more common form. It says in my Strong's "through the idea of a cover assuming the shape of the object beneath." Hmm. So clothing that makes a woman's shape look like a man's shape is wrong (in reverse as well). This still does not say that it is wrong for a woman to wear jeans.
My grandmother always wore dresses. Always. My mother always wore dresses when we went to visit. But I've grown up wearing jeans a lot. They are very functional in my life (I run, I mow lawns) and I have a very difficult time seeing how a dress could be equally as functional. Now I'm not finding any verses that actually restrict women from wearing pants-- if they are feminine and modest pants.
Am I wrong? Am I grasping for straws (or a less drafty method of gardening)?
If any of you have further insight on this, please do comment. I'm open to both sides of the discussion at the moment. If you post in the favor of dresses, though, I just have to ask: how do you run in a dress? Seriously.
I'm no expert...
12:48 AM, Mar. 30, 2006
.. Posted by Anonymous
I think in the Bible times everyone wore dresses of sorts! I think the key is not to try to look like a man. I think jeans are fine. I am intrested to see what other comments you get.
Who says that jeans/pants are "mens" clothing? Do you go to the men's dept. to buy your jeans? No, you buy women's jeans. When you dress, you don't try to look like a man, do you? I think people would look at you and know without a doubt that you are a woman. I do look at some women, especially young ones who dress so shabbily that they don't look feminine. A man who looks feminine in what he wears and a woman who looks masculine is not what God had in mind. I think God knows your heart. He knows that you are not trying to be something you are not. If you feel you must wear skirts, then so be it, but I don't think that you think you must. You can wear your jeans and still be feminine and the woman God called you to be.
I've been going 'round in circles over this issue for 7 years, and I still don't know the answer. I've heard some dresses-only women say that if you can't do it in a dress, you shouldn't be doing it. I'm sorry, but I have a very difficult time climbing ladders to paint and decorate my home (my dh will do exterior painting, but the interior's up to me), or playing on playgrounds with my little ones, or hiking through the hot, humid, sandy, Florida woods on a field trip, if I am wearing a dress or skirt. Should I *not* do those things? No, because that would be legalistic. Should I wear a dress anyway, whle doing those things? I could, but I would probably end up in the ER with a broken ankle from tripping over my dress!
There's a time and a place for everything. I usually wear skirts, because I look and feel feminine in them. But under certain conditions, I do wear pants. Usually capri's. I find that they are a nice compromise. Not too hot for our almost year-round summer, not too cold for our almost non-existent winter, definitely feminine (the only men I've seen wearing capri's have been very effeminate), more modest than shorts. I personally don't care for jeans because I have found only one pair in my entire life that felt comfortable on me (see, I'm weird with how things "feel"!) and they didn't fit anymore after my last pregnancy ... anyway, I think some women can wear jeans and still be VERY feminine. It's really between you and God.
Blessings ~ Diane
Ahhh, but in Biblical days men wore robes (is that considered a dress by today standards?) My interpretation of this is that a woman shouldn't try to pass herself off as a man and a man shouldn't pass himself off as a woman...either through dress or surgery (God must've known what was coming!) So, I don't literally take this as dress vs. pants. Back then they all wore what we would now consider a "dress".
Hmm, I guess I could run in a dress...just without the hose and heels. Teee heee heee..I'm having a visula right now..running down our street in my church dress...the neighbors would think I lost my mind:)
Thank you for your kind post on my blog...
Michelle
I used to wear skirts all the time - can't remember why, it was a long time ago. Then I had children - and trying to climb modestly over a stair-gate in a skirt... it just can't be done! As we hosted a home group at the time I soon got myself some leggings, which were high fashion and brilliant for Mums with toddlers. Now I've worn jeans for years and am only just finding manoeuverable skirts in the shops - those straight ones were just totally impractical compared with jeans.
I don't think womens' jeans are men's clothes, I mean, they're just the wrong shape! I do, however, try to dress modestly and I have my hair long because those are things I believe I should try to do as a Christian woman. Now the long hair - there's another debate! ;-)
I was very interested in the other comments, by the way. It seems a number of us feel similarly.
Alice
I saw a woman today who defined this whole thing for me.
She was wearing a nice, long skirt. She had a baby in a front pack.
I thought she was a man.
She had her head SHAVED (not short, shaved), the skirt was camoflauge material, and she was overall very sloppy in appearance. Her figure didn't exactly look feminine, either. But she was, on closer perusal, a very pretty woman.
I get it now. I truly get it. Nothing like God sending you your own personal walking object lesson, is there?
