Fundie Head Coverings

[Jhirun]

I've noticed some of the Christian fundy women wear little head scarfs. Can someone tell me why, please? I can remember as a little girl having to wear a scarf on my head in church [Catholic] but all that changed around the time of Vatican 2 from memory. I presume Fundies have a biblical reason for doing this? I'd also love a short list of those who wear them. Thanks.

[Maia68]

I am IN NO WAY qualified to answer this, but I had a friend who was Church of Christ, and she would discuss the divide between COC groups who believe in headcoverings and those who don't; hers didn't. It's based on some random Bible verse that I don't know.

[Curious]

I wonder if persuaded is still lurking here. She might be able to explain it. I know she head covers.

[Destiny]

I believe it has to do with these verses:

http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1-Corinthians-11-6/

http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/11-5.htm

Basically, it has to do with according to these verses, women should not pray without a covering, and since there is another verse that says to pray without ceasing, some denominations interpret this to mean that women should cover their hair. Other denominations interpret this to mean that women's long hair is enough.

Also, with some of the fundie "submission wars" they will blog that covering is an outward sign of submission to their husbands. I don't remember any biblical basis for this one though.

(This is from quickie memory, so I may be missing some stuff.)

[Gwen]

It goes something like the head of Christ is God, the head of man is Christ, and the head of women is man. Thus women should wear a scarf to show their submission.

[Jhirun]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I know the Amish and Mennonites wears head coverings. I was unsure of the reasons why women such as the Seven Sisters wear them. They don't seem to be part of a particular group. Thanks for the insights.

[RosyDaisy]

In some of the Churches of Christ the head covering is only worn during worship, not all the time. Most of them tend to look like a cross between a short veil and doily. Not all Churches of Christ do this. This is just based on my observation and knowing women who do wear coverings.

[lagenialester]

Again, no authority on this, but I wonder if it has to do with the fundie trend of adopting certain random things from the Old Testament. Most married Orthodox Jewish women cover their heads at all times as a form of modesty. In other movements I've noticed women only wearing head coverings during prayer (doilies usually, but occasionally scarves).

[nana sew dear]

Again, no authority on this, but I wonder if it has to do with the fundie trend of adopting certain random things from the Old Testament. Most married Orthodox Jewish women cover their heads at all times as a form of modesty. In other movements I've noticed women only wearing head coverings during prayer (doilies usually, but occasionally scarves).

I saw an Oprah special a few years back where she was visiting an Orthodox Jewish family. I'm not familiar with all of the different types of Judaism but these people seem to have been set apart from the other Jewish communities.

Anyhow, the women had to cover their heads but instead of a scarf or hat they wore wigs. I think it was only required of the married women. So it is forbidden for women to show their hair so they cover it up with...hair.

If anybody knows more about this I'd love to learn more.

[Megan]

These wikipedia entries seem useful re:Jewish hair covering:

Hair covering generally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzniut#Hair_covering

The wigs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheitel

[tenth muse]

It's usually based on the Corinthians verse ,I've never heard anyone basing this on the custom of Orthodox Jewish women, but maybe some do. A lot of Christian fundies cover their heads, but I also know a couple of non-fundie and in fact liberal women who do so. Not as a sign of submission to a husband or men in general but as a reminder about being under God, always prayerful, that kind of thing. There is a divide between those who believe that the covering means a literal covering like a small cap or scarf or something, and those who believe that the covering can just be hair.

[TheLurkingFrumper]

While I do hate to derail, I just wanted to add that this is my favorite fundie head covering website. I would purchase some as headbands, but I don't really want to support that kind of thing.

.garlandsofgrace.com/

[GiGi_41]

That site has some great head coverings, so I'd even wear as an atheist Quaker! To bad that I like you don't want to support that kind of thing. I do have a friend though!

[shedemei]

I saw an Oprah special a few years back where she was visiting an Orthodox Jewish family. I'm not familiar with all of the different types of Judaism but these people seem to have been set apart from the other Jewish communities.

Anyhow, the women had to cover their heads but instead of a scarf or hat they wore wigs. I think it was only required of the married women. So it is forbidden for women to show their hair so they cover it up with...hair.

If anybody knows more about this I'd love to learn more.

There are a few of us here that follow Orthodox Judaism. Basically, it breaks down like this:

1. Some sects believe that wigs are 100% not fulfilling the mitzvah (commandment) and ban them.

2. Some see them as being less preferable.

3. Some believe they are about the same as other headcoverings.

4. Lubavitch (Chabad chassidism) holds that they are the preferred headcovering.

The idea is that the wig is still covering your normal hair and the woman knows it is covered, so the commandment is fulfilled. In many chareidi (ultra-orthodox) groups the length, style, and type of hair on a sheital (wig) is very important in determining if the sheital is acceptable. So, while in Lubavitch you may see women with long sheitals, in an insular chassidic group like Satmar the women that wear sheitals generally won't wear ones longer than chin or neck length at the absolute most. Some prefer that the sheital be made of synthetic hair or look obviously "wiggy" so that others know it isn't her real hair. Non-chareidi communities are all over the place in terms of sheital acceptance, but they're generally considered valid among most Ashkenazi Jews.

[ButterscotchEquinox]

Some of those coverings (garlands of grace) are so beautiful. If they weren't on a religious site I would assume many were just lovely hair accessories. So here's a problem- is it cultural appropriation to wear a religious head covering in a non religious manner? What if you were raised in a church where many women covered, even if you no longer consider yourself part of that sect? When do these go from lace head bands to submissive attire?

[Geechee Girl]

My Baptist & Pentecostal relatives cover for church and prayer. I was raised to cover whenever entering sacred spaces, and I continue to do so. Covering is one tenet of my fundie I can't give up.

I also cover in moon, and for fashion. I can't speak to the cultural appropriation of it, because for me, covering is also part of my African culture, as well as religious. I would hope when I wear tichels from wrapunzel, I don't offend.

[Coco]

Some of those coverings (garlands of grace) are so beautiful. If they weren't on a religious site I would assume many were just lovely hair accessories. So here's a problem- is it cultural appropriation to wear a religious head covering in a non religious manner? What if you were raised in a church where many women covered, even if you no longer consider yourself part of that sect? When do these go from lace head bands to submissive attire?

Most of the fundies in my background would say that was a matter of the heart, depending on the individual woman's convictions, whether it's a symbol of submission and when it was just a headband. But the fundies i knew weren't bound by strict denominational rules. It was a church made up of people who left the Amish/Mennonites and some people, like my parents, from other more worldly backgrounds who decided to live an Anabaptist lifestyle. The rules changed often. For Jewish or Orthodox traditions, I don't know when they would consider it a symbol of submission. I don't think it would be considered a faux pas to wear one of those garlands of grace coverings as just a head scarf.

[RosyDaisy]

In some Churches of Christ women wear a covering that looks like a doily on to of their heads. I never attend one of them, and I have never worn a head covering to church.

[browncoatslytherin]

in watching a documentary on westboro, it showed a service in their church, and all the women wore headcoverings during the service. i thought that was kinda interesting.

[shedemei]

in watching a documentary on westboro, it showed a service in their church, and all the women wore headcoverings during the service. i thought that was kinda interesting.

I always thought that was weird, because they were otherwise not dressed up for church.

[browncoatslytherin]

I always thought that was weird, because they were otherwise not dressed up for church.

i noticed that, too! very, very casual...but doilies on their heads. *shrug* it looks like they remove them immediately after the service, as the documentary guy was talking to a possible convert and then shirley phelps-roper, and she didn't have one on, even though they were still in the building.

[Monkeebrainz]

i noticed that, too! very, very casual...but doilies on their heads. *shrug* it looks like they remove them immediately after the service, as the documentary guy was talking to a possible convert and then shirley phelps-roper, and she didn't have one on, even though they were still in the building.

The headcovering does not have to do with being dressed up. Some wear them only in church and others wear them all the time. I saw one group that wore a plastic hairband with a triangle of lace glued to it.

[Monkeebrainz]

What is with the legwarmers on the garlands of grace website? Why not just wear socks?

[Sicily]

On 1/7/2014 at 9:49 AM, nana sew dear said:

I saw an Oprah special a few years back where she was visiting an Orthodox Jewish family. I'm not familiar with all of the different types of Judaism but these people seem to have been set apart from the other Jewish communities.

Anyhow, the women had to cover their heads but instead of a scarf or hat they wore wigs. I think it was only required of the married women. So it is forbidden for women to show their hair so they cover it up with...hair.

If anybody knows more about this I'd love to learn more.

All strains of Orthodox Judaism require that married women cover their hair. Some sects allow or prefer wigs as coverings, Lubavich being one of them. The Lubavicher Rebbe felt there'd be less temptation to pull a wig off.

[Marmion]

I own a copy of a book , Why Do They Dress That Way , which describes various religious sects that " dress plain , and why in general they do so .  Basically , they do so out of a sense of humility , simplicity , and nonconformity .  P.S.  I myself have noticed that what even my sister has described as resembling a doily has largely become the predominant standard head covering for old fashioned conservative evangelical Christians .  Here are some pictures to illustrate what I am referring to .        

Edited November 7, 2019 by Marmion