Confessions of a 20 Something: SQUinny Jeans Syndrome

April 28, 2010 • By Ana Guthrie

People often ask me why I don't wear jeans. It's one of those engrossing questions and, depending on how close I am to the inquirer, my answer sometimes meanders into a nice, introspective chat.

The short of the long of it is that I don't wear jeans because I don't like the attention that I get when I rock them. You see, I have a big "shake-your-derriere-in-your-Dereon," apple bottom, "whoot-whoot-pull-over", "I-like-big-butts-and-I-can-not-lie" booty.

My booty mops the floor with Kim Kardashian's.

From as far back as I can remember, folks seemed to just (how do I put it?) DWELL on my dunk. Yeah. And nobody could stop me in high school. I never really sought the cat-calling type of attention; yet being considered erotic certainly didn't hurt my self-esteem.

Now, I've come to the point where...well...not only am I just fine with not being lusted after, but, if I may be sincere, it's foreign to me. Receiving advances is one thing; getting bedroom invitations is another. I'm no angel. Still, I can honestly write, here...with a clear conscious...that my intent in dressing is never to be sexy, but to feel victorious.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy being fashionable just as much as the next girl. There are few things like the glee that comes from putting together cute outfits. Like most young folk, I feel my best when I look my best. Plus, I believe that Christ is honored when our attitudes, lifestyles and personal appearance all line up to display zest for life. Believers ought to be Jesus' models.

Without question, it's okay for young Christians to be hip, chic and contemporary. The problem is that, in our culture, so much of being hip, chic and contemporary entails being seductive. So how do we manage to follow trends without compromising our witness? Does sexual purity include our mode of dress? I touched on this in another column but it bears repeating: just how much of our self-expression should we sacrifice for God?

Sacrifice, simply put, equates to modesty. Many argue that modesty is no longer taught in our churches, particularly within the Pentecostal realm with its deep-seated, "Come as you are!" philosophy. Dare to bring up the topic and you're sure to be labeled a legalist, fundamentalist, or even a holy-police.

The truth is that on the day we gave our lives to Christ, we essentially agreed to repress the sex kittens in us...that is, until our wedding nights! Sure, Christian women don't typically give up the twins-bearing V-necks, bashment make-up, freakum dresses, and stripper heels over night. While it's not a popular message, ladies, that fact remains that if our lives are sincerely transformed by the blood of Christ we'll see that over time the raunchy gear just has no place in where our God is taking us.

The other day, I read a Crosswalk.com article on this very topic. Two dudes chatted about the role Christian sisters have in helping their brothers remain pure. One confessed,

"Sometimes, when I see a girl provocatively dressed, I'll say to myself, 'She probably doesn't know that a hundred and one guys are going to devour her in their minds today. But then again, maybe she does.'"

The other guy admitted,

"When a woman dresses immodestly it makes it difficult to see her as a sister in Christ. There is a constant battle going on as I'm talking with her. Communication becomes more difficult as I'm trying to listen to her, because I'm trying to fight temptation."

To me, the portion that most stood out was this:

"I heard of one girl who went shopping and really liked the shirt she was trying on. But then she thought, 'No, I can't do this to the guys.' That was the first time I had ever heard of anything like that and it made me so grateful."

Little by little, God has taught me what is truly alluring. One of the tools He used to school me is Michelle McKinney Hammond's classic book, The Power of Being a Woman. Just as Titus 2 tells the older women to train us young gals, Hammond peeped me to this truth: Godly femininity is captivating.

I'll never forget my first Titus 2 teaching moment, where I pulled aside a teen girl at church. Fun, rambunctious and oh-so-loud (in fact, I christened her "New-New" because she reminded me of the character that Lauren London played in ATL), this girl was a stunner...and she knew it! Girlfriend, rocked her skinny jeans so tight, they were more like SQUinny jeans. I noticed her before I knew her. Eventually, we became cool. "Look-a-here, g'rl," I chided. "If I ever see you in a short skirt - especially twisting as you walk down the aisle to the front of the church on Sunday - I'm gonna hurt you, you hear me?" I joked that her "Sunday Best" was more like a hot ghetto Sunday mess! It was all in jest but the message was clear: leave some stuff to the imagination. You see, Godly femininity is mysterious.

I want to challenge my sisters to let your apparel be a form of reverence. Just like extending your hands and majestically zoning out during a worship session, let your God-given beauty come from a private corner of your heart...a place filled with contentment...where you have nothing to prove and no one to impress. Godly femininity entails being what I like to call confidently humble.

Ask yourself today: Do your clothes misrepresent your salvation? Do they betray your intentions? Are your threads a part of your testimony?

Ana Guthrie is a super cool chick with a heart for God and love for youth culture. She doubles as a not-so-naughty librarian and instructor at Florida Memorial University in Miami, Florida.

Visitor Comments (1)

Seriously?

Posted By SANELYINSANE26 on June 5, 2010

This article is borderline retarded... You do realize that as women you are created to catch the eye of a man. There is nothing wrong with skinny jeans and i will add that regardless of what you wear men will oggle you. So why not be sexy?... Why not wear skinny jeans? The idea that being attractive is against God's will is preposterous. Keep it real ma... And if this is your reality... you reside there alone!