What is "anti-flaunt"?

While it seems like that question could have an obvious answer, it may not.

flaunt
1. to parade or display oneself conspicuously, defiantly or boldy.
2. the wave conspicuously in the air.


Let us examine the first one. "To parade or display oneself conspicuously, defiantly or boldly." Essentially, that means showing off one's body in an immodest way. As a Christian woman, I do not believe in flaunting my body and objectifying myself. I would not encourage anyone to do that.

There are a lot of potential aspects to Christian modesty. The biggest one I have always practiced, even before I was saved, was to make sure my body was always properly covered- no cleavage, no shorts or skirts above my knees and no midriff. In school, we wore uniforms and the skirts only came a certain length, so I always wore shorts under them to keep my modesty.

In 2007, I felt inclined to begin investigating Christian veiling for women. I used to live in Ohio so at the time, largely considered it to be an Amish thing. As I learned more through blogs, vlogs and internet articles, I learned more of the Biblical basis behind it. For awhile, it left my thoughts but it has recently returned with a fierceness. Not just that but also to have long, feminine hair. Since I had been coloring my hair since the age of 12, it wouldn't ever grow very long. I am currently in the process of cutting out the last bits of artificial color. So, right now, my hair is still very short but it is much healthier.

A few days ago, something happened that prompted me to finally wear the veiling, in public without any sort of embarassment. I went to get some more of the color cut out of my hair. The woman misunderstood me and cut way more off than I could handle. It is buzzed bald in the back, in fact. I felt so un-feminine and I wanted to cry. I still want to cry when I look at it!

My mom was with me and we immediately went and bought a scarf so that I could tie it on my head so we could finish our errands. I am currently tying it in such a way that the tails of the scarf simply hang down my back. It feels more feminine than anything mostly because it feels like long, flowing hair hanging down my back. I have already found that I am more comfortable going out in public with my head covered than I ever was without it. I don't feel weird and I have truly realized that I don't care what people think of my appearance.

It is a very humbling experience. Though I do get the feeling that many do not see this as a religious sentiment but a medical one. Seeing as the bald peach fuzz in the back still kind of shows, no matter how I tie the scarf, I get the feeling I look more like a chemo patient than anything else. That doesn't bother me for I would feel very ashamed to walk around with this horrible haircut exposed.

I really feel this is the beginning of my lifelong veiling according to 1 Corinthians 11. Sure, it took a shamefully bad haircut to prompt me to walk around with my head covered publicly. But while I am sad about the improper hair cut, I am also grateful for what it has already shown me.


Aside from covering my head, I am generally following my own standards of modesty. I'm not into full blown skirts and dresses mode yet. If I ever am, that will take awhile longer for me. I still wear pants and trousers, mostly because that is all my wardrobe really is. I own only one skirt as of right now.

But I hope to acquire a few more skirts in the coming months as well as more plain shirts. Most of my shirts are prints, somewhat flashy prints and many I have owned for quite some time now- they are getting frayed, losing their beaded adornments, etc. I recently got a simple pink shirt and I felt so feminine but simple in it. It was great coupled with my black skirt. So, I want to build up my wardrobe with more plain but feminine shirts.

I'd love it if anyone has tips for going modest, covering your head, etc.
Thanks and God Bless!

Elisabeth