Interesting post by Dr. Mohler on the increasing prevalence of boys wearing skirts in America’s high schools.
Here’s a snippet:
“The controversy over boys wearing skirts to school is a symptom of our loss of sexual sanity and the will to preserve any reasonable and healthy understanding of gender. These teenagers are telling us something important — we are losing our sexual sanity.
For Christians, the issue is a matter of biblical concern. The Bible reveals a concern for respecting and honoring gender as God’s gift. In the Old Testament, the Law taught respect for these distinctions and roles. In the New Testament, we find similar expectations. As the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11: 7-15:
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
While addressed to the specific concerns of a church setting, this text also generalizes the point by making a specific reference to what nature teaches concerning the recognition of the difference between males and females. The Creator is honored and glorified when men and boys dress and present themselves as males and when women and girls dress and present themselves as females. Culture by culture and generation by generation the specific form of this distinction may change, but the point remains.
God made human beings to show His glory, and an essential part of that glory is the visible difference between males and females that is reflected even in the public presentation of dress. We should be able to tell the difference between a boy and a girl by the way they dress and present themselves in public.”
I agree with Dr. Mohler that boys wearing skirts is disturbing. But is it really a Biblical issue? Or is it more of a touchy cultural issue? I’m genuinely curious as to what you think. I believe it can be a Biblical issue, but I’m not sure the way Dr. Mohler framed this is convincing.
Here’s some food for thought and discussion:
- Dr. Mohler equates dress with gender identity and tries to make a biblical case for it by quoting a Paul’s discourse on headship, which talks about hair and does not mention dress specifically. My first question is should we start having women wear head coverings, so as to be careful not to blur gender lines? Secondly, should we start telling men that long hair is an abomination and shaming girls who have short hair? There may be a compelling case for Dr. Mohler’s arguments in scripture, but I’m not convinced this is it. What do you think?
- Women now wear pants, and it is commonly accepted. Don’t remember when I’ve seen Dr. Mohler write a blog about the abomination of women wearing pants. Is this a double standard?
- Clothing styles have changed throughout history. How can we even begin to start explaining what is a masculine and feminine style of dress in a biblical context? Isn’t that more of a cultural question? And is it right to syncretize the two?
- Is it our clothes that create our gender identity or the way in which we interact? It seems Paul is more concerned with how men and women interact than their style of dress. What do you think?
To be fair, Dr. Mohler says, “The Creator is honored and glorified when men and boys dress and present themselves as males and when women and girls dress and present themselves as females. Culture by culture and generation by generation the specific form of this distinction may change, but the point remains.” But he doesn’t seem to really believe this by the tone of his post. After all, couldn’t boys wearing skirts simply be the “specific form of distinction” changing. He says “the point remains,” but is the point the way we dress, or the way we act?
Flame away.