Prompt: Read
"The Wife-Beater"
Answer the question…
Do members of your religious or ethnic group wear an item of clothing that is
not well known to others? Define the article of clothing, and explain its
significance and its history in terms that outsiders can understand.
“The Wife-Beater” is an exceptionally well-written essay by
Gayle Rosenwald Smith about A-Shirts, also known as Wife-Beaters. She breaks down the definition of the article
of clothing in terms that everyone will understand and react to. This essay sparks thoughts on articles of
clothing that can be misunderstood.
Growing up, I was a member of the Church of God in Christ
(COGIC), a Pentecostal organization that, at the time, placed strict
regulations on what the women of the religion could not wear. One such item was pants. This directive resulted in the interpretation
of Deuteronomy 22:5 (ERV) which states, “A woman must not wear men’s clothes,
and a man must not wear women’s clothes. That is disgusting to the Lord your
God.” This rule caused me complications
as girl who was a total and complete tomboy.
I had to wear dresses no matter what I was doing. I wore them 24-7, even in gym class at
school, which was bothersome at times. There
was one time when we were learning about gymnastics. We had to flip, tumble, jump, and the like to
receive a grade. I could not even wear
shorts under my skirts, against the rule.
In one class, we were on the parallel bar, doing exercises,
and it was my turn. I got up on the bar,
and did the required exercise. I could
not refuse to do it, I would have received a failing grade, and in my family,
failing grades are not a good thing. Thankfully,
the young lady who was spotting me, thought to hold my skirt in a way that my undergarments
could not be seen by everyone in class.
You would think the coach would have let me get an excused “absence”
for this lesson because my mother wrote him a note explaining my religious beliefs,
but he did not. I had to
participate. I tried to talk to him, but
he said that my excuse note was not sufficient to get me excused from the
assignment. So, there I was trying to
flip on a parallel bar without showing all my glory. I got a “C” on the assignment because I could
not fully do the exercise without showing my glory, so I did a modified
version.
As a child, I did not understand the rule, but as an adult, I
realized why the church had this rule. They
wanted the saints to look a certain way, in order to portray what holiness
looked like. I have often heard people
say that the forefathers of the church were ignorant, but I do not feel that
way. I think they were simply trying to
help the congregants live a holy lifestyle.
The rules on dress has modify some, which is good, but I
would not change my experience for anything.
It made me who I am.
Works Cited
Smith, Gayle Rosenwald. “The Wife-Beater.” Patterns for College Writing, edited by
Laurie G. Kirsznek & Stephen R. Mandell, 9th edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2004, 521-524, e-file.
