Why are Christian Headcoverings so ugly?

[polabear]

I'm lucky enough to live in a multicultural area. So, I see a lot of head coverings, typically on Muslim women. They are almost always GORGEOUS. The fabric is gorgeous. They are draped just so. They match their outfits. One woman on my train usually wears a white scarf, but even in white, it still very nice fabric, and often has a white on white design.

In contrast, Christian Head coverings seem just so hideous. Half the time, its like they've tied a bandana around their head. Or, they have some horrible polyester lace triangle. Why can't they jazz it up a bit?

For example:

www.joycelongcoverings.com/lace-headcoverings

vs

www.thehijabshop.com/

[Avalondaughter]

I was just thinking of the Mennonite women I see at the beach when I'm on vacation every summer. They don't wear modest swimwear (they wear suits that are fairly modest, but not that Wholesomewear stuff), but they always have these little bun coverings that match their bathing suits. I always see that as sort of fun and cute. They're not wearing traditional Mennonite caps, but are a matching their suits. Kinda jaunty for them.

[ChunkyBarbie]

I think it is because so many fundy Christian women take pride in looking dowdy and frumpy. They may claim they like to look good for their husband only, but I just can't see how they go from public dowdy frump to hot mama in private.

[Kitty]

One thing I've noticed about Christian headcovering vs. Muslim headcovering is that Muslim headcoverings cover... well, all of the head except the face and maybe a bit of hair. Christian headcoverings only cover the back of the head, and the hair is often tied back and the tied-back hair is still visible. Christian headcoverings seem to require a lot of pins and clips to stay on too, which seems to be a pain in the ass and not very modest at all. I mean, these tend to be the same people who forgo makeup because it's vain or whatever, why are they so desperate to save the 5 minutes to put on makeup and turn around and spend much more time putting their hair up?

Muslim headcoverings also come in various designs, colors, and fabrics. With Christian ones, your options are white, black, or blue, cotton or lace. I think it's just a different approach to modesty- Muslims have zero problem with still appearing stylish, while Christians who cover their hair are the fringe and want to look different. Even then, there's no reason that you can't be stylish AND modest- look at all the LDS modest clothes sites. The head-covering Christians seem to aim for frump. Fuck, a cape dress and bonnet are more stylish than the hideous frumpers and lace-collared blouses a lot of other "modest" Christians go for.

[DarkAnts]

I live in an area with lots of Russian orthodox immigrants. Most of them have beautiful hair coverings that match their outfits. The scarves have intricate designs on them.

[Anise]

I think it is because so many fundy Christian women take pride in looking dowdy and frumpy. They may claim they like to look good for their husband only, but I just can't see how they go from public dowdy frump to hot mama in private.

Nothing better than the nude. Because pretty lingerie is of the devil.

[MamaJunebug]

It’s not such a mystery if you think about it.

Hijabs are traditionally a symbol of Islam, not Christianity. (ah, if only Roman Catholic nuns still wore the veils and caps and wimples! ;) )

Mesh kapps a la the Amish and Mennonite traditions already exist as examples of Christian modesty [sic].

Triangular headscarves are functional.

The modesty [sic] movement generally equates dowdiness with modesty (whether it’s intended or not), thus a beautiful scarf, artfully arranged, would almost amount to the excessive braiding of the hair and other over-the-top adornment that the apostles advised against.

A fair number of Christian people who believe in female headcovering don’t have a lot of disposable income and take what they can get for the purpose. Economic constraints merge with the above points to produce a perfect storm of meh-ness, if not downright unattractiveness, in headwear.

Edited to LOL at how my message repeats everybody else's! I promise, I didn't realize it. My TSU's computer/modem are slow!

[Boogalou]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? There is nothing inherently more attractive of one over the other and there is a lot of variability within reach tradition as well. Also, I don't the reason a lot of people cover is to be fashionable.

[Kaylee]

I think it is because so many fundy Christian women take pride in looking dowdy and frumpy. They may claim they like to look good for their husband only, but I just can't see how they go from public dowdy frump to hot mama in private.

This.

I think a lot of people feel pressured to look frumpy to fit in. You can wear modest clothes and a cut matching scarf, hat, or other covering, but there are people who will accuse you of being vain or wordly in many of those circles if you dress differently, even within their guidelines. I do like a lot of the Orthodox Russian outfits with matching coverings that I've seen online. I've gotten called out in the past for wearing vintage hats and matching scarves with long, loose, flowy dresses and skirts because my outfits looked too "hippie" or too much like normal clothing instead of being obviously religious - that makes a lot of people veer off into plain white veils and cape dresses - I tried that for a while then decided if I was gonna be doing it wrong anyway I'd wear jeans when I felt like it and let them be sure I was going to hell.

Others have pointed out that people wear it as a a symbol and not for fashion, so a lot of people probably don't consider how a covering will look with a certain outfit or if it matches or looks good. Certain groups also set rules for the size, color, or pattern of the covering, which gives the women even fewer options as far as trying to wear it stylishly. Money is part of it, too. A lot of women can't afford a whole wardrobe of coverings or different patterns of scarves, so plain white often wins out and some of the most shapeless ones are also the cheapest. There is also a cottage industry of sorts and several people sell pretty hideous headcoverings, knowing that the people who buy them are reluctant to criticize another conservative Christian even if they are dissatisfied with them.

As far as the "look hot for your husband", it seems to be more of a suggestion than a practice. If you only listen to other women, you can convince yourself that all men must find long hair and long dresses attractive, but I'm pretty sure most men still prefer "hot". One thing that comes up fairly frequently among fundie women is the husband wanting the wife to dress less modest (usually meaning less frumpy, but probably to show a bit more skin, as well). I was like that for a while, but we're both a lot happier since I've started dressing less frumpy and trying to be more stylish. There are some things I'll wear at home but not in public, but that's mostly because my husband's idea of "hot" means dressing like an extra from an 80s metal video.

[MamaJunebug]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? There is nothing inherently more attractive of one over the other and there is a lot of variability within reach tradition as well. Also, I don't the reason a lot of people cover is to be fashionable.

Interesting thoughts. Do Christian men find beauty in kapps and kerchiefs?

What is fashion/what's fashionable?

Is plain-ness (as in "the plain people," members of the Society of Friends and such) supposed to equal ugliness, or just simplicity?

[Third]

All my Christian friends who cover use Snoods, scarves and Jewish style head covers and they are really pretty. I think the baggy floral dresses with wide collars, the weird triangle covers, sneakers with dresses are done to make them as unsexy as possible. Wouldn't want to make a brother stumble.

[Dinorah]

Well, some Christian seem to have been picked on Jewish-style tichels, which can look nice.

Overall, devout Muslim women are much better dressed than Christian and Orthodox Jewish ones, at least in my experience, and truly succeed in being covered up yet glamorous. Often they're actually quite sexy, in spite of the veils, long sleeves, etc. But it seems that the attitude towards modesty is different, much more focussed on the public sphere. I once saw hijabi-wearing women try on low cut sleeveless evening dresses in a store. So I assume they would have been ok with wearing a revealing outfit in private?

[holierthanyou]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? There is nothing inherently more attractive of one over the other and there is a lot of variability within reach tradition as well. Also, I don't the reason a lot of people cover is to be fashionable.

So true! Personally I find Christian women's head coverings quite beautiful (with the exception of the lace ones, which aren't that common), as well as the Jewish and Muslim women's head coverings.

[clibbyjo]

I have about 30 headscarves which I wear once in a while(I am currently "off" that phase) and I wear all of them tied in the Jewish styles. Check out http://thestyleunderground.com/ for some beautiful ways to tie them .(she has videos and a small company that makes them) Her "urban wrap" is the way I usually wear them when I do.

[chiccy]

Hmm...

In Orthodox Judaism, how pretty the headcovering is loosely correlates with how "modern" one is.

For example, MO and Lubavitcher (liberal Hasidic) women will often cover with beautiful human-hair wigs, custom cut and styled and costing many thousands of dollars. Some of them are long and quite glam. It doesn't necessarily have to do with money; these communities consider it a priority to make the woman look and feel beautiful.

In Israel, many women wear beautifully-tied tichels in gorgeous fabrics. As you get into more conservative groups, you start seeing the women wear cheaper, sometimes synthetic falls, short wigs, or wig-and-hat combinations that are supposed to look less like natural/uncovered hair and therefore less "modern." At the ultra-Orthodox end of the spectrum (especially in America) it's more common to see women in rather ugly turbans and snoods, often (in the case of turbans) with their hair shaved underneath. If a woman wore a wig in these communities, she'd be considered "modern" and would be criticized for it.

So I do think there is an association between ugliness/frumpiness and supposed holiness. Maybe wanting to have a nice headcovering is associated with vanity (think nuns) or self-absorption, or devoting time to superficial rather than spiritual matters. It would make sense...

Also note that in the most conservative Islamic sectors, women don't wear beautiful coverings at all, but generic burqas which completely efface their identity in public, and eliminate all possibility of self-expression. (I think that's part of it too--self-expression and self-determination are seen as more liberal and worldly values, and are thus misunderstood by some as a form of corruption...)

[holierthanyou]

Chiccy,

I think that's where it comes down to personal taste though, like boogalou was saying. I.e., personally I find the snoods and wraps (the ones I think you're referring to as turbans) more beautiful than a perfect human-hair wig. But that's just me, and obviously others like different things. Again, I think Boogalou hit the nail on the head when she said that it's personal preference, and also that the women who do it aren't doing it for fashion anyway.

[Confused_by_religion]

Doesn't Christianity have a long tradition of mind-over-body, stay single for the sake of the Kingdom and don't have sex because Jesus might return any moment now?

I've always believed it's like a badge of honour not to give in to sinful urges to beautify the body - and probably it's also a race to the bottom: my headcovering can be a little bit more ugly than yours, showing how devout and modest I am.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I really like both Jewish tichels and hijabs - it's the whole "tied a scarf thing" and the variety of scarves. I like do-rags too (very similar to tichels in some styles). And, I even like triangle kitchen head ties, like kitchen and bakery staff wear.

The formality only "little tiny hat that perches on one part of the back of your hair" just isn't my thing. I'm also not such a fan of the pre-made Satmar turbans with the gathery part in the front.

Speaking of which, when it comes to kippas, I like the larger styles. Bukharan, even. But the big black ones are nice too.

[Fluffy-Boo]

One thing I've noticed about Christian headcovering vs. Muslim headcovering is that Muslim headcoverings cover... well, all of the head except the face and maybe a bit of hair. Christian headcoverings only cover the back of the head, and the hair is often tied back and the tied-back hair is still visible.

Christian headcoverings found in early church portraits looked very similar to Muslim headcoverings. They were long veils, covering the hair completely. In fact, they remained this way through centuries, but as the religion has become more modernized, symbolic headcoverings, such as those tiny lace doilies, have become the norm.

Paul's New Testament treatise on headcoverings really translates to "veiled" not "covered". The women were to be veiled. The words of the early church fathers seem to confirm these modesty standards. They wanted the women shrouded as much as possible. There is a book Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs that quotes the church fathers and their views on female dress. There is very little distinction between their standards and that of Islam.

Today's headcoverings would hardly classify as veils. Inf act, even Amish bonnets would not meet Paul's standards, but curiously enough, no one in the churches seems to care.

Lace away, ladies.

[MamaJunebug]

Doesn't Christianity have a long tradition of mind-over-body, stay single for the sake of the Kingdom and don't have sex because Jesus might return any moment now?

.

No, not that I'm aware of, not in general terms. There have been groups that celebrate celibacy and chastity, like priests and nuns, and those that cloister themselves away from society for prayer, etc.

And there have been gruops that, under the general aegis of Christianity, have preached abstinence. They've mostly died out, like the Shakers.

But from my experience and understanding, a good 99% of Christians don't follow any such tradition. Long or otherwise. ;)

I've always believed it's like a badge of honour not to give in to sinful urges to beautify the body - and probably it's also a race to the bottom: my headcovering can be a little bit more ugly than yours, showing how devout and modest I am.

That may be true in some of the dominionist, etc., sects we observe, but I've not seen it in mainstream organizations. Good grooming, sensible modesty (dressing to fit in wtih society without attempting to look like Abby Lee Miller designed your costume) (heh) and pleasant-looking clothes and hair are valued.

[Fluffy-Boo]

Doesn't Christianity have a long tradition of mind-over-body, stay single for the sake of the Kingdom and don't have sex because Jesus might return any moment now?

Only for the first two centuries. When the apocalypse failed to come as expected the churches became more centered around building a clergy and church order, and the people resumed their normal family lives. Though for many centuries after, the church doctrine equated marriage as a necessary sinful state. Celibacy was still celebrated.

[Jessica]

The ones from Garlands of Grace and Sewers of Hope are pretty.

edited to fix my repetitions in my repetitions in my sentence ;)

[Elle]

When you're expected to pop out a dozen kids and it's selfish to have your own likes and interests, when if there supposed to be time to spend on putting on and arranging a nice head covering?

[Minerva]

The only Christian headcoverings I've seen in person are the Mennonite caps and the triangle of lace on a friend of an evangelical friend of mine. I couldn't help but notice that she wore it exactly the way I did when it was fashionable to tie a small bandanna around your head. I was able to buy them attached to a headband, or with laces on them and it made it way easier to make them stay on your head. Is there a reason Christian headcover-wearers don't make their scraps of fabric with headbands or laces? Seems like it would make their lives easier.

[Witsec6]

I live in an area with lots of Russian orthodox immigrants. Most of them have beautiful hair coverings that match their outfits. The scarves have intricate designs on them.

THIS.

I'm Orthodox Christian and although I don't cover, many women in my faith do, and usually they have something pretty and they wrap it loosely but closer to the Muslim style (probably because it's easiest-- maybe to imitate Mary the Mother of God). Most women I know who do cover only do it in Church (and sometimes take it off even then to adugst their hair or whatever).