Expert: Pastor Don Carpenter - 4/29/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Pastor,

I was recently wondering about how some ministers say that women should not wear pants, or "trousers" as the English say.  I understand that women should not dress like men, and men should not dress like women, and that Christian women should dress modestly.  All this I understand and agree with.  

But when it comes to modest dress, I actually am more sexually attracted to a woman when she wears a skirt, even if it's below the knees, because I can see at least part of her legs, and if she is wearing high heels then it's even worse.  When a woman wears pants I really have no problem sexually, because in our current times I don't see that many women who wear tight pants.  In the 1970s and 1980s that was the case, but not so much now.  And when it comes to tight fitting clothing, women can wear a tight skirt too. And that's much worse than a woman wearing tight pants.  

When it comes to women dressing like women, and men dressing like men, then I also don't see a problem with women wearing pants, because fashions change, and in the last 200 years women have started wearing pants, and now there are pants made specifically for women.  It's become part of the culture.  Back in Bible times no one wore pants, even men wore skirts.  But as times changes so do fashions.  From what I understand no where in the Bible does it say that women can only wear dresses and skirts, and only men can wear pants.  So I don't see this as a problem either.

The strangest thing I ever heard is when I heard a minister once say that women should not wear pants because in the Bible men are told to gird up their loins.  But from what I understand such passages were figuretive speech telling men to be ready and prepared, and this had nothing to do with what men or women should wear for clothing.  If this is used as a reason for women not wearing pants, then it would also stand to reason that this means that women cannot wear underpants either, because it means that they are girding up in that part of the body.  And I've yet to hear of a devout Baptist woman not wearing underpants, but just a skirt and nothing else to cover that area.  I would be supershocked to hear a Baptist preacher tell women not to wear panties/underpants. It just won't happen.  

So why all this talk about women not wearing pants? It sounds legalistic and actually silly to me.  My wife wears pants even to Church and I would rather that she wore pants because it is more comfortable for her.  

What is your view on women wearing pants?  

Thanks - Josh

ANSWER: Hi Josh,

Thanks for this question.  I am very sorry for my late response.

Deuteronomy 22:5
5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

The same Bible verse that tells us that it is wrong for men to wear a dress and panty hose, tells us that women should not wear anything that pertaineth (has anything to do with) a man.

One beautiful thing about Baptists is that we believe in individual soul liberty.  What matters is that you believe and obey the above verse.  Some families choose to avoid pants for ladies, some do not.  What matters is that you understand the verse and obey it, not simply ignore it.  I do  think that we sometimes get so caught up in the externals that we assume that external compliance is enough.  The Pharisees did that much.

I hope that this gives you something to think about.  By the way, my wife will not wear pants for any reason.  My daughters do.

In Christ
Pastor Don

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Pastor,

Thanks for your response.  When it comes to wearing women's clothes I have no desire to do so.  And my wife has no desire to dress like a man.  I'm not a cross dresser and neither is she.  I believe that genders should dress differently, but a lot of how people dress depends on the culture.  In India men wear things which would only be worn by women in the United States.

And I do have one interesting comment to add and ask you about.  When I was a young boy my mother used to put these panty hose type things on me, under my pants, during the coldest days of winter.  They weren't the kind of panty hose women wear these days, but the kind young girls have on during cold winter days when they wear skirts.  I didn't want to wear these things because I knew that only girls wore them, but my mother forced me to because she was afraid that I would catch a cold. I didn't tell anyone I was wearing these things because I was too ashamed, and she didn't either.  The intent was not to make me look like a girl, but to keep my legs from freezing.  I don't know why she didn't just have me wear long john underwear, but from what I remember I think it was  because she didn't want to spend the money on buying them when she already had these things.  Also in her native country it was common for boys to wear these things on cold winter days.  It was a cultural thing.  In her country it was accepted that young boys would wear these things during the winter, but not in this country.  

In such a circumstance as this do you think my mother did the wrong thing?  Or if a man from India comes to the United States and wears what Americans would consider a dress, is he doing anything ungodly?  

Josh

ANSWER: Hi Joshua,

Thank you for these comments and questions.  You are absolutely right, it is a cultural thing.  God did not say that men should wear pants and women should not, He said that men should not wear women's clothing, and that women should not wear anything that has anything to do with men's clothing.

Having said that the culture will determine that.  If a mother actually knowingly makes a boy wear what is culturally girls clothes, then it is wrong.  The debate in America is whether or not pants are exclusively for men or not.  

The Bible does mention girding up one's loins.  THis is something that men did by tying up their robe, dividing their legs so that they would work.  Traditionally men did the physical labor, thus the saying gird up your loins like a man.  Was this men's atire during that time..?  Probably it was.

I think that first of all one must consider whether or not he considers a certain dress to be centered toward one gender, then consider if the culture in which he lives does so.  We are becoming more and more global in our society.  One may be able to hold on to one's cultural dress without compromising scriptural principles of gender seperation more today than before.

I hope that this helps you.

In Christ
Pastor Don

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Pastor,

Yes, this sort of answers my question. But I still don't know what your view would be in a man from India came to America and wore Indian clothing, which in American culture would be a dress. I may have misunderstood your response, but I'm not clear on it.

I did not like what my mother did and I see that you would think that what she did was wrong, because she knew that in America such clothing was only for girls, but I remember that when I argued with her about it she reminded me that in her own country little boys wore such things on winter days.  Where I would defend her in her actions is that she was not putting these panty hose on me for others to see, so that I would look like a girl, but instead she put them on under my pants where no one could see them and until I wrote you this email I've never told anyone else, and no one ever knew about it. It was not to make me into something I was not.  God created me as a man, and what she did was not to make it look otherwise.  So I don't think that this would offend God because the intent was not for me to look like a girl. It was not to make me look like a member of the other sex, for all to see, which is what modern day transvestites do, which is a totally different story.  Also in her mind there was nothing wrong with me wearing this because even though she knew that in America boys don't wear this, nevertheless she knew that in her home country they do and she felt that if it was okay there then it was okay here.  

-Josh

Answer
Hi Josh,

I think that the most important thing is what the person making the decision thought.  If they were culturally conditioned in one direction, even if living in a different culture, the upbringing gives deep and passionate orientation to what is believed to be right.  If a man from another culture wore something that looked like a dress, that is between him and God.  I am a big fan of cultural integration though.  If you are going to come to america, melt in with american culture... but that is just my feeling, not a Bible decree.

I hope that this helps.

In Christ
Pastor Don