As I made my way through tailgates at Spence Park a couple of weeks ago, just hours before A&M took on the Crimson Tide of Alabama, I began to take notice of something that I believe is beginning to plague the younger generations of Americans.

Many young women that I saw were wearing considerably revealing outfits that would not have been culturally acceptable at a football game even ten years ago. Now let me assure you, I am no second-coming of Regina George in trying to become the fashion police. However, I believe these outfits stem from a deeper issue, an issue of which much more are responsible beyond the girls wearing the outfits.

Allow me to provide a disclaimer—I am not Amish, nor do I expect young people to cover their ankles when going out in public (not to throw shade at the Amish). I do believe times have changed, and cultural norms are different. I will also include that not every girl was dressed like this that I saw.

In fact, the majority of the girls at Texas A&M dress very appropriately and beautifully on game days. Before condemning these young women, or berating me for judging any woman’s fashion choice. Let’s take a deeper look into why they may be dressing this way.

Our Society Has Placed Value and Identity in The Wrong Places

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Some of the most popular social media sites in our world today have now become platforms to determine the value and worth of you or someone you know. Whether we like it or not, many of us and our friends place quite a bit of meaning on a number of likes we get on a picture, what the comments say, and how many followers we have.

This has caused our generation to tailor our lives to what people will approve of on social media. Unfortunately, it seems that for girls, revealing outfits and skin exposure seems to have a direct correlation to more followers and likes on social media posts. There is a weakening identity in Jesus Christ for both men and women, and it’s a problem our society will never be able to solve as long as social media is at the helm.

Men Have Failed to Honor Women in The Correct Ways

Hooters and Twin Peaks are popping up at every corner, and I continue to see more and more young women that I know decide to work there because they can make more money off of tips for the way they are encouraged to dress. In addition to this we have seen NFL, NBA, and even college sports teams’ cheerleaders wear tighter, shorter, and progressively more revealing outfits. Both of these scenarios and many others are rooted in one thing—Men.

Men have failed in their weak attempt to “honor” women. Men have sent a clear message to young women saying that if you want to make money, feel pretty, and be of value to the opposite gender and the rest of the world. So, I ask fathers, where are you? It’s time to wake up! Will you sit idly by while your daughter allows the world to define her value and worth?

You were given a calling whether you wanted to be a father or not, and as a whole, the fathers of this generation have failed our daughters. Brothers, young and old, do you not know that your sister puts extreme value on what you say about her appearance? Boyfriends, are we treating our girlfriends differently if they don’t dress to look sexually appealing? It’s time to grow up men.

We have put women in an impossible conundrum of deciding whether to be valued by dressing in revealing ways, or considered a prude and unimportant by dressing modestly. WE MUST WAKE UP MEN. It’s time to take a stand to the barbaric nature we have demoted ourselves to by honoring and empowering the women of our generation.

A Call to Women

Before I conclude this article, I want to make one final thing clear to women who are reading this. If you struggle with identity and appearance, please do not feel ashamed. I am not here to judge you or condemn you for what you wear. Rather, I want to encourage you in confidence that you are a child of God and made in the image of God.

You are beautiful no matter the outfit, no matter the likes or the followers, and no matter what others say about you. I understand that this is a real struggle, and maybe even a struggle that you don’t view as a struggle. I know this because for a long time I would go to the gym in an attempt to please those around me with my physical appearance rather than to simply be healthy.

So, I ask that you don’t take this article with disappointment and condemnation, but rather encouragement that your identity is found in none other than Jesus Christ, and for that your value and worth is eternal.

Psalm 139:13-15

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”