Ever note how Kim Kardashian idolizes objectifying herself. It has been imbedded in her with the idea that if she objectified herself she is rewarded with success and money. It is difficult to step away from a lifestyle one has only known, in fear of being an outcast, especially in Hollywood where everyone is objectified. In more extreme measures, the same is played out for the women in ultra-orthodox communities. Their entire life is consumed by the lifestyle of being modest. For them, anything that does not follow the modesty guidelines of their community will be not acted upon in fear of being an outcast.
The authoritarian functions of how the laws of modesty are carry out in the ultra-orthodox society are harmful to women. Modesty is practice in an extreme form, which makes woman victims of being hypersexualized, depersonalize them, authorize men to regulate their choices and idealize an impossible image. Women are ingrained with the idea that their bodies are hypersexaulized and to police every aspect of their life because their actions can be consider inappropriate. The impression that one must be mindful of everything they do, and if not, they are possibly committing a sin.
Forms of how modesty is practiced in ultra-orthodox community aims at standards that are damaging woman. The documentation post, “Tznius Craziness,” illustrates advertisements and posters that are display in ultra-orthodox communities to constantly remind individuals of the norms in community. One poster tells women to be aware of conversing at a street corner because their voices may provoke men. Further promising women if they follow this particular law, they are avoiding any troubles in life and a good new year.
Also, in many publish newspaper, magazine or poster, women faces are lurred to emphasize that men may partake in sexual urge. Consequently, women are left with the conception that they are less than men and may be the result of causing a man to sin. Likewise, since women are seen as hypersexualized beings it gives women an obsession of policing one another of what is consider being immodest and modest. Ultra-orthodoxy is a more contemporary form of Judaism, however, ought to view themselves as authentic. Therefore, it allows room for Rabbis and male figures in the ultra-orthodox society to mandate what is to be more tznius in uniform.
Commitment of modesty for women is like Torah intellect for male-only mechanism that has it seen valuable for a woman in the society. As a result, leads to the infatuation of what wig is ought to be more modest, or seeking the most tznius stocking that demonstration the separation of the skin and hosiery. In the reading, “Modesty; An Adornment for Life,” it establish commandments of how a woman should act in regards to how should dress, and cover herself. According to the reading, a woman who exposes her hair is creating damage to her husband and children by attracting attention.
It continues by stating the regulations of covering the arms and dressing to please her husband. The guidelines that are described in the reading are literally taking a woman apart in pieces and dictating her body. She is no longer a being, rather a body that is ought to be a threat in society because of the sexual appeal she can bring to men. In the ultra-orthodox community one of the most essential protocols is uniform, which leads to depersonalization. Uniform displays membership of a particular religion for outsiders and a particular sect to the society.
Modesty and uniform coincides with one another in ultra-orthodox communities. Uniform controls the message of what the individual wants others to think. It gives individuals a source of pride of belonging to something bigger than themselves. As well, uniform is a collective idea, in which displays loyalty to that particular group. However, when it is mandated to remove self-power and individuality, it causes depersonalization. It begins to deprive someone of their only personal identity and force boundaries on them in which they must obey.
If one does not obey the regulations of the uniform decided by the community, they are expected to be stunned out of the community. In the Lev Tahor community for example, women are dressed in an all black head to toe black covering. The women are majority forced to dress in such way, to express what is consider the most superlative way of modesty. If women disobey, they threaten them by taking away their children. Women are being denied any form of identity by singling them out to objects. Vital, there is also no way of exiting of the community.
Uniform erases the personal of the women in the Lev Tahor community and made them a collective of oppressed women. All the laws of modesty that women must follow are authorized and created by the men in the society. The role of tznius in a women’s life give the men in her life the responsibility of making sure she is obeying the laws. As mention previous, the idea of how the advertisements affect a women’s value, also creates enforcements to a man about his wife. The husband has to prove his role in the community through Torah intellect mostly but his wife image as well.
His wife becomes his testimony of his status in the community. Women are consequently being reminded that they are husband trophies. The characteristics of a women is narrow down to the color of her clothing, the length of her wig and the way she acts. She is a sexual object to her husband that can be invaluable to him. A woman in this society will never be viewed as equally as her husband, and the complete modest wife. A women’s sexuality is the most powerful mechanism as a women in the ultra-orthodox society, which forms struggle of trying to achieve the ideal image.
Being the most modesty is what gives you make you value. The concept of your sexuality being the most powerful tool allows women to become obsesses with this part of their life. An ideal image in the society is believed to be slimmer women that cause sublimation for many women. Even though the idea of being slimmer is a secular perception, it has become more of an issue in the ultraorthodox community. One of the issues of increasing eating disorders can be the ritual of arrange marriages.
Imagine a young Hasidic man who never interact with any women outside his family is drilled with the impression that a dress size four wife is what he wants. When he is in the process of looking for a wife, making sure his wife is a size four is going to be essential to him, since that was ideal ought to be. As a woman than being raised in a society with such demands, you are pressure with feeling as if you need to be a size four in order to find a husband. Also, another potential issue is the view of women having to breed many children.
She is responsible of raising eight children and has no time for herself. She is in no control of anything but her body. In the reading, “Food for Thought” discusses the issues of why eating disorders might be considerable higher in ultra-orthodox community. The article deliberates on three reasons, which are the impact on young marriage, feasting holidays and the impact of the Holocaust. Nonetheless, the reading does not mention the stress of women living up to the expectations of a size four dress after breeding several of children.
The way in which modesty is influencing women in the ultra-orthodox society is destructive because that’s the only power women have. On the contrary, ultra-orthodox society view modesty as a way of stepping away from women being objectified. Eliminating themselves from the secular world, and following the authentic devotion of orthodoxy allows them to accomplish this impression. If ultra-orthodox women dress more modest, cover their hair and police their actions around men, it will save them from being objectified by society.
However, women in the ultraorthodox community are objectified because of how men view them and their role in the society. For instance, the Haredi community, the women are seen as objected rather than beings that have to cover up in order not to arouse any male. Extreme measures are taken if a women is seen a dressing immodest by the community the verbal and physically abusing them. Furthermore, Allison Josephs gave a speech regarding the idea of why dressing modesty is the best way of defeating objectification as a woman.
She gave a testimony of becoming an orthodox woman and why she is delighted to apart of the community. The reality is that her experience with modesty is not a suitable reputation of how modesty scopes the lives of women in the ultra-orthodox community. She was raised secular and had the choice of becoming orthodox. Therefore had the opportunity that women who are raised in ultraorthodox homes don’t such as getting an advance education, having knowledge of the secular world and most critical choice. However, women in ultra-orthodox are probable to get stunned of their community if the laws of modesty are not followed.
There is no real choice then for ultra-orthodox women to opt out of modesty. The method of how modesty is enforced in ultra-orthodox society is damaging to women by devaluing them of their identity. It allows women to become victims of being hypersexualized by tznuis laws that are advertise throughout the communities and the supervising of females with one another in the society. Uniform and modesty together depersonalize women in the society because they are seen a collective responsibility something for a power greater than themselves.
The authority of men enforcing the laws on women affects them into the impression of being less than men. The idolize image ultra-orthodox women attempt to aim which results in eating disorders. On the other hand, the argument on behalf of modesty being encouraging for women is not valuable. Women who usually preach their desire of practicing modesty usually choose to become apart of this community. Therefore, they are not representing the population of women that never had a choice. They are afraid of being outsiders to the only world they ever known to be apart of.
