I wish that as a girl, that I had instead been taught that my body was a beautiful and incredible thing, and that it wasn’t shameful or in need of hiding. I wish I had instead been taught that I could use my body to run marathons, and climb mountains, and bring forth new life. I wish the modesty conversation had been discussed in terms of respecting my own dignity and worth as a human being, and not in terms of filth and shame.

Nowadays, I don’t even care anymore. I don’t feel embarrassed when I nurse my baby, though I will respect other people’s embarrassment if it makes them uncomfortable. But that’s what these boobs are made for! I’m not going to let my baby starve because someone else has oversexualized breasts. It’s THEIR job to keep themselves pure, not mine. So I am modest, but only insofar as it is part of treating my own body with respect and reverence, and a thing of worth and dignity. Because the only way to be 100% sure no-one is stumbling over your body is to wear a burka. And even then, what if burkas turn someone on, when they imagine what is underneath it? The only really safe route is to never leave your house, and to limit contact with males to family members. I don’t think that’s the freedom Christ calls us to, do you?