In the last few days, internet users, especially women, harshly criticised the former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo for wearing a wedding dress they nicknamed a “pick me” dress. Her wedding dress which was modest and decent with no sexual display of skin was termed, ‘modestly “offensive” and “misogynistic.”
In response, Culpo said to reporters, “I didn’t want it to exude sex in any way, shape, or form, I wanted it to feel effortless and as if it’s complimenting me, not overpowering me. There’s so much beauty and simplicity.”
One of the appalling and offensive sights in weddings in particular and outside of weddings is the gradual descent to nudity. It is becoming a thing so being normalised as it is scandalous to sight. Women who in recent times, in claim to be in charge of how they explore their body and should not be dictated to, have resorted to debasing weddings in particular with their immodest appearances.
Weddings should be solemn, gracious and elegant. It should exude decency and culture.
The idea of exposing especially the breasts in such an occasion as a wedding, not only makes these women look irresponsible but also an attack on decency and what weddings stand for.
Weddings are trivialised as one of those social gatherings which do not connote any semblance of seriousness and tradition. It is being reduced to an everyday event where people gather and women showcase their valuables in the most debasing, and subjective manner. It is also objectifying of these women whose breasts are often not clothed well as they busy themselves in adjusting the clothes in a manner of drawing attention to unsuspecting onlookers.
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While the silhouette of dresses are sometimes long to flow on the floor, the bodice is starved to create this anomaly. Another is to cover the breasts but to have the dress short on the laps.
While these are not in any way out of fashion as some people think these ways of dressing make them look sexy and modern, some women think dressing modestly is an allusion to patriarchy. Women should understand that being decent and gorgeous is more sexy than looking as a sexual object.
While these are done to attract the opposite gender, it is worth reminding the women that men respect occasions and events in their dressing and can the women borrow some cues from men without labelling it patriarchal or misogynistic?
In Nigeria, women, even young women, think that weddings are a time to show off how big or small their breasts are in their choices of appearance and then preoccupy themselves in trying to pull up or adjusting their dress. Olivia Culpo stated that, “When I think about Christian (her husband) and what he loves and the moments that he thinks that I’m most beautiful, it’s absolutely in something like this: timeless, covered and elegant,”
Most men love the timeless, covered and elegant appearances of women and it is about time that women understand that appearing gorgeous, covered and elegant is indeed timeless.
Nudity in and out of weddings no matter the social media endorsements, showcases the personality of the woman. A woman’s dressing sends out a message of how she wants to be related to; respected or scorned or objectified. Choice is personal.