April 10, 2017
In the early 2000s, Principal Dr. Shelly Butler noticed her students and coworkers changing their sense of style. As a popular pop artist at the time, Britney Spears showed an influence on the outfits and appearance of men and women alike as the past standard of modesty slowly went away.
“You just noticed a shift,” Dr. Butler said. “Our girls normally wore jeans and a t-shirt and then the crop top and the tight clothes became popular. The twisted hair was really popular.”
Beginning from the early 1900’s to now, fashion has experienced a dramatic makeover. Women in the early 1900’s wore floor-length skirts and shirts that covered their chests. Making their way into the 1920’s, women began to wear pants, thus spurring a push for women’s rights. By the mid-1900’s women were wearing dresses that didn’t go to the floor, and wearing shorts rather than pants. Today, we wear dresses, shirts and shorts that reveal a lot more than just legs and arms. Theater teacher Ms. Heather Alverson feels as though teenagers expose skin to show they are proud of their body. Modesty has changed in a way that not showing off your body means that you are ashamed or a ‘prude’.
“Modesty has changed in a way that not showing off your body means that you are ashamed or a ‘prude,’” Ms. Alverson said. “It is common now for girls to show their stomach and to have shorts that are cut at an angle rather than a straight edge.”
In 1930, Hollywood created a production code, called the ‘Hays Code,’ consisting of a list of “don’ts and be carefuls” for making motion pictures. They believed people shouldn’t be offended by the behaviors on the screen and encouraged producers to avoid any illegal or immoral scenes into their productions. The Hays Code was enforced until 1960 when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) came out with a more relaxed form of censoring films.
“I saw ET, and I think about how the mother dressed,” Dr. Butler said. “She was professional and going to work versus thinking of a movie now, but it’s a lot more skimpy looking — a lot more skin showing — maybe not as professional.”
Following the change of censorship, movies have been released with less censorship than before. Now, movies are based off of things that some consider scandalous or obscure. While in the TV show I Love Lucy the cast danced around the word ‘pregnant,’ nowadays movies expose much more than that. Movies and television shows like Scandal have released explicit sex scenes and promote illegal acts.
“It is almost night and day compared to movies when I was a child,” Ms. Alverson said. “Even some commercials now make me blush. I feel like a lot of people have sold out to the idea that ‘sex sells.’”Other forms of entertainment such as Twitter and Instagram have shaped today’s teens’ views on modesty. Through these platforms, anything that makes its way onto social media platforms can influence the user’s day-to-day life. Anyone can see anything and become desensitized to things that. Nothing surprises them anymore, whether it be news or obscure pictures, the “Instagram generation” has seen it.
“I think it’s attention — attention seeking,” Dr. Butler said. “You think about the Instagram era, and everybody has to have a pretty picture Kim K look. Maybe that’s what people are striving for as a role model rather than someone who is more modestly dressed.”
The “Instagram generation” has become a generation known for thinking all about themselves and their self-worth often depends on how many “likes,” “retweets,” or “views” they get on a picture they post. This mindset has caused a shift in the way teenagers and young adults view modesty. Social media has changed the way people view themselves and other people.
“People are beautiful the way they are,” Dr. Butler said. “You don’t have to do anything extra or extraordinary for people to like and love you. If you just believe in yourself and look in the mirror and smile, what you see is perfect, just like you are.”
MODEST: dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency, especially to avoid attracting sexual attention.
MODESTY: behavior, manner, or appearance intended to avoid impropriety or indecency.
Julie Andrews, 81
British born actor, Julie Andrews has starred in Mary Poppins, Sound of Music and many other memorable film roles. Andrews started on Broadway starring in My Fair Lady, Camelot, Thoroughly Modern Millie, winning 3 grammys, 2 emmys and an academy award. She became a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for her services to the performing arts. Andrews always appears poised and has a professional manner about her. She never dresses in revealing clothing, and her roles are always remembered without her body being part of the picture.
Angela Lansbury, 91
Angela Lansbury has also been in other films such as Anastasia and Nanny McPhee, in total she has been in 107 movies and tv shows. She has spent her life performing but never let the industry change her values. The actress kept a steady image by being appropriately clothed in her productions. In her films and shows, Angela Lansbury dresses modestly by never revealing too much skin. Not only will she be remembered for her films, but she’ll also be remembered for her modest dressing.
Laura Bush, 72
Laura Bush, first lady from 2001-2009, assisted her husband George W. Bush with his presidency. She introduced many initiatives in her time in the White House, including the National Book Festival and focus on education in the US and worldwide. Bush went to Southern Methodist University and earned a degree in Education, becoming a teacher and librarian before taking her place as First Lady. Bush is praised for her fashion sense by People magazine and Washington post, her dresses are now on display at the George W. Bush presidential library. Each of her outfits are made very classy and modestly. While keeping her clothing modest, they were still cute leaving an impact on the fashion world setting a standard for years to come.
Michelle Obama, 52
First Lady Michelle Obama attended Princeton University and later Harvard Law School. When Obama arrived at the White House she visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens that prompted her to send people to advocate public service in schools. One thing that she has worked hard to do is provide awareness to military families, bonding with many of them and trying to help them balance their lives after service. One of the most famous things that Obama did was address obesity in the United States, she instituted “Let’s Move,” a program that targets childhood obesity, encouraging children to be active and eat healthy. Overall Obama is looked at as a role model, with her actions and in her choice of clothes. Her fashions, formall featured in 2009 fashion week, are compared to Jacqueline Kennedy’s style. Obama’s outfits tend to look business-like and never are revealing or unclassy.
Robin Roberts, 56
Television personality, Robin Roberts started out as a news anchor on many local news channels and worked her way to become what she’s most famous for, a co-host on Good Morning America and sports newscaster on ESPN. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Roberts went through rounds of chemo radiation and surgery. In 2012 doctors diagnosed Roberts with myelodysplastic syndrome, (MDS), a cancer affecting bone marrow, that caused her to leave her job on GMA, coming back a few months later after treatment. Even with her setbacks, Roberts always appears professional and dresses with class, never showing anything unnecessary, yet still fashionable and cute.
Kate Middleton, 34
Kate Middleton also know as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was born to an upper-middle class family who put high importance on dressing modest and acting with respect for herself and her body. She met Prince William in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews. The two didn’t start dating until 2002, during their time at the university the couple tried to keep their relationship out of the public’s eye. In 2010 the couple got engaged, and Kate’s role in London society changed. Kate Middleton not only dresses in a modest way, but she also acts classy. Being raised as a Duchess her mother and father placed a huge importance on presenting herself with respect and class. Because of this Kate has been known for having cute yet simple and classy outfits.
Adele (Adkins), 28
Born and raised in England by her mom, Adele started her singing career by releasing her first album in 2008. Adele became popular in the United States when her album earned a grammy and she appeared on Saturday Night Live. Her second album, 21, won 6 grammy’s and many other British awards along with being the fourth best-selling album in the UK. Adele’s fame only grew bigger as she released hit singles such as Skyfall and Hello. At every concert or appearance Adele always looks stunning. In her recent outings, Adele wore a simple black floor-length dress that covers everything yet still looks beautiful. Her clothes are always fashionable and are remembered without being too revealing or flashy.
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