Why is wearing revealing clothes compared with having less self respect?

37 comments

1. I assume people put their *best* traits forward, and showcase to the public the best persona they have to offer.

   When what’s outwardly presented resembles sexual or material objectification, it says to me “I don’t have any talents or skills besides being pretty, so that’s the foot I put forward”.

   This is not to say that dressing as such is evidence of a lack of character; these are just the unfair assumptions I instinctually level against others when judging them based on appearance alone.

2. How revealing are we talking and for what occasions or context?

3. Do you want to be known for your ass, tits, stomach, etc., or what you have to say? Simple.

4. Revealing clothing -> Sexualization -> Sex work -> Low self worth

   This isn’t my opinion, it’s just the the usual line of reasoning I see behind it.

5. For me it’s because it screams of a huge need for sexual attention, which I associate with insecurity, low self-esteem and narcissism (as contradictory as that may seem). And I’ve yet to be disproven, as every person I’ve ever known who dresses like that *is* deeply insecure, narcissistic and has low self-esteem.

   And that applies to men just as much as women, but I almost never see men dress that way.

6. Because you’re selling yourself. If you’d like to be known for your physical traits, go ahead. Nobody is stopping you. It is true that dressing modestly equates to somebody having more self-respect. They’re not relying on exposing body parts that biologically evoke a physiological/psychological response from their male counterpart.

   “Revealing clothes” aren’t random, they’re worn with intent.

7. Weird, as a man, I usually think it screams confidence when a woman wears revealing outfits.

8. It just so happens to also be what prostitutes do to advertise their wares.

9. I feel like this kind of falls in the same argument as “look what they were wearing” when sexual assault is brought up.

   I feel a lot of the time it comes from people who are not as confident with themselves and it creates a need to put down those that may be. Or are overly religious and obnoxious about it (I had a teacher in Jr high who was known to make snide comments about a girl when she wore shorts. They were of proper length and all, but because she a little thicker than some and had larger legs, it because something of a target. Where as a thinner girl would not receive the same remarks)

10. It’s kind of like wearing JNCO’s and a tophat, begging for attention.

11. I think you mean conflated, not compared (unless I’m completely missing the meaning).

    I believe the reason for that is because if you’re willing to expose yourself then that means you care less about what you think about yourself and more about what everyone else thinks, and you’d rather be desired than respected. This can go much deeper than that, however, and there’s all sorts of manner of details that can completely change the meaning behind it, but for the most part when people want attention regardless of how they get it, it points to lowered self worth.

12. The more clothes you have on equal the more respect you have for yourself. That’s why I am always covered head to toe in all the clothes I own, regardless of weather/ season. I respect myself so much that I never am nude, yes I am a never nude. I wear shower shorts and a shower shirt in the shower because I respect myself so much.

13. In my experience, that’s mostly a religious leftover idea: Modesty and all that crap.

    Whatever, my shorts are short because it’s hot.

14. Because shaming women for how they dress is an integral part of maintaining many people’s self perception of their position in society.

15. Revealing clothes have a proper occasion. Wearing them all the time is inappropriate. I don’t think it’s connected to self respect.

16. To me it’s a attention grab. Can you explain to me why a man, even if has a nice body, wears a speedo so skimpy to the beech that leaves no imagination to the size of his package? Why not just go nude?

17. If a woman is wearing extremely revealing clothes, I’m assuming she’s doing it for attention.

18. Up until the latter half of the 20th century revealing clothing was associated with prostitution and hasn’t lost that stigma in a lot of people’s eyes. I am not saying that is right, I am just saying that is the current reality.

19. I feel it is because the sexual conotations on various levels of nudity tend to lead people to believe that the more you show, the more you are trying to attract or appeal for attention.

    Now compound that with the current trends to have people showing more acting offended when they, you know, *attract people and attention to themselves for dressing provocatively / in a revealing way* and you can kind of see how ridiculous it can be.

20. How you dress sends a message.

    If a guy wears a set of assless chaps and a jockstrap into a gay bar…he is sending a message. If you wear a RATM shirt and a pair of ripped jorts into a business meeting, it sends a message. If you wore a white bedsheet to a black history month celebration, that would be a message. Folks infer things about you due to your mode of dress. It’s human.

    What do you think revealing clothing says? Especially to men?

    It tells us you are treating yourself as a sexual object and we should do the same. Kinda like the gay guy above.

    A woman in a bikini can still solve calculus in three dimensions and discuss the flaws in Shrodinger’s equation. But that is not the initial impression.

    It’s just the way of things.

21. The people that say that are usually just insecure. If you respect yourself, you shouldn’t feel any shame about your body.

    That isn’t to say there aren’t inappropriate times to show a lot of skin, but that’s about respecting the situation, not yourself.

22. Because it usually signals they’re looking for external validation, which in turn means they lack on their own internal validation

    Many of them are just looking for attention when they do it, negative or positive. Same as guys who do the same thing, although it is harder for us to dress in a revealing way

    Women will say “misogyny” but they judge women who dress in revealing clothes the same way that we do

23. i suggest you go look at the responses on the ask women subreddit
    rather interesting change in perspective.

    Anyways i did not want to comment because its their space and all and i don’t want to infringe.

    the female body is glorified during the social media age more than ever by both women and men. Though one can make compelling arguments on why or why not revealing clothes= wanting attention it’s rarely ever black or white.

    In reality it’s more of a spectrum, it can go from showing cleavage to barely anything covering and we all have to agree that your position in said spectrum does not mean you need to defend your entire side to the extremes.

    NO wearing slightly or moderately revealing clothing isn’t inherently sexual in nature, it shouldn’t warrant advances that are sexual in nature. It doesn’t mean you get the pass to touching a woman and to be creepy. Certainly does not mean she’s asking for it.

    YES wearing something too revealing will get you stares and glances ranging from judging to sexual. If you’re wearing the same attire as a stripper and get mad you get the same stares as one you should be responsible for the negative emotions it brings on yourself.

    Please just be decent and rational to each other.

24. Dressing modestly for both men and women forces others, especially the opposite sex, to judge you based on your character and not on how jacked you are or how curvy your body is.

25. Some people lack self confidence or respect so rely on external validation and attention from others. Revealing clothing is one way to get that. However that’s not the reason most people wear revealing clothes

26. Great how most people are talking about women wearing revealing clothes even tho I did not even mention any particular gender in my post!

27. People are stupid and swamped in traditional beliefs.

28. I think it’s because some men think that everything women do is a performance to please men. i.e. if shes showing skin it’s because she’s performing for men and craving their validation. This is not the case. People wear what makes them feel comfortable.

29. Puritanical viewpoints by judgmental people. Some circumstances demand appropriate attire, others are more flexible. Outside of being situationally aware and dressing accordingly, wear what you want. If someone has an issue with it, it’s their problem, not yours.

30. The clothes you wear projects who people think you are and how you want to be seen.

31. My guess is that people are jealous they’re not as pretty/jacked/handsome. Most normal people don’t give any significant thoughts to what a stranger wears, maybe the average redditor does tho. I know I don’t really notice or care what other people around me wear.

32. Social conditioning. The body is a temple, so modesty and purity are the ideal. Revealing clothing is associated with sexuality, which should be reserved for private viewing.

33. It’s attention-seeking. I don’t think it’s more complicated than that.

34. I don’t neccessarily view it as having less self respect.

    But if a chick is gonna dress like a hoe don’t get mad when she gets treated like a hoe.

35. Puritanism.

36. It’s a really cheap way to get validation. Everyone has a butt and boobs, but most people don’t feel the need to show them off. By doing so you’re inviting people to view you sexually, instead of valuing yourself and limiting your sexual experiences. Sex loses its value when it’s given so freely and to such a large number of people.

    Also there are plenty of other ways to get validation that require skills or talent of some sort. But if you choose to get it from your body it kinda says something about your integrity.

37. Wear whatever you’d like, as you feel it’s appropriate for the circumstances. Dressing sexy is great in the right setting. Dressing conservative is great in the right setting. Neither necessarily indicates a lack of self respect. That being said, if one thinks they that they must dress in revealing clothes, or conservative clothes in order to have value, or gain attention, or have respect, or satisfy someone else’s standards of modesty, then that’s problematic.