The Woman’s Body and Shame – Where Does It Come From?

I’ve gotten a lot more spiritual over the last year and most of my education comes from spiritual leaders within the religious world. While there are many aspects of my life that I have changed to heal, rectify my soul, draw closer to the creator, fulfil my purpose, and help raise the vibration of the collective, there are a lot of things within religion that I do not agree with. This is why I say that I am “spiritual” and not “religious”.

One of my biggest triggers is “modesty”. I will never be able to jump on the bandwagon in terms of religious views on modesty. Women are supposed to cover from head to toe so as to not be “provocative” or “seductive” or “become a stumbling block”. Guess what? If a man has a dirty mind, he will lust after any woman he desires regardless of how much skin is showing. Some men have a foot fetish and will get hot and bothered over the mere sight of a toe. And since when did a man’s mind and thoughts become the responsibility of women? Aren’t we all accountable for our own thoughts and actions? It’s not my job or the job of any woman to look after men and their potential thoughts, to cover from head to toe because men can’t be trusted to control themselves over seeing a bare shoulder, elbow, kneecap, etc.

I have the full and utmost respect for women who choose to dress covered if that’s what they are comfortable with. But is it really their choice and comfort level from their authentic self? Is that their soul’s true expression? Or are they feeding into the narrative of what the religion says is right vs wrong? I’m asking.

I am not a feminist, and I do believe in gender roles. But it doesn’t take rocket Science to see there’s a clear discrepancy and double standard between the way society sees men’s vs. women’s bodies. There is shame attached to the woman’s body that is not there for men. A religious man can walk around in shorts and his shirt off and it’s perfectly normal and acceptable. If he’s an attractive man with a muscular body, it can and DOES cause women to lust after him. However, somehow, this is not an issue. It’s apparently totally fine for a woman to lust after a man because no one bats an eye over a man dressing this way. But heaven forbid a woman in a halter top!

This is because there is a deep level of shame attached to the woman’s body and both men and women feed into this. Women do use this to their advantage – thereby making it worse by sexualizing themselves, selling their bodies, etc. We must remember that shame comes from the dark side. Shame is evil and body shaming is evil. We create these thoughts, and we create this shame in our minds. We create that reality. The true reality is that we are created in the image of God. We have divine souls, and our body is simply an artistic housing for our souls. The sexualization of the body – especially the woman’s body and inherent shame attached to it is created in our minds. It comes from sin. If it’s a reality that is created in our minds that comes from the dark side, than isn’t it a reality that can be rectified? If it’s created in our minds with our thoughts, don’t we have the power to change that reality with our minds and control our thoughts? If we heal and rectify the darkness within us caused by the conditioning of society, generational curses, etc, and elevate our thoughts, consciousness, and raise our vibration, we will not see the body as shameful. We will not objectify and sexualize it because we will see it as beautiful art that the creator has formed.

Women should be able to dress in a way that expresses themselves and makes them feel comfortable regardless of how much skin is showing. There’s no reason why a woman should be forced to wear clothing that covers her from head to toe in 90 degree weather because men “can’t control themselves”. That’s absurd! It’s time for men to take accountability. Men CAN control themselves and their thoughts if they change the way they view women – if they stop attaching shame to the woman’s body, if they stop objectifying and sexualizing women. Women can change this reality if they start respecting themselves and treating their own bodies as a vessel for the divine, and protecting who has access to it and the energy therein. This is so deeply ingrained in our culture that it will take a lot of work from both men and women. We all must recognize that a woman’s body is not an object, or shameful, or innately sexual, but an inherent part of creation. It should not be viewed as something forbidden, but something natural and beautiful. I know it is easier said than done. But it is work that needs to be done. Because body shaming is rooted in the dark side, not in divinity.