Monday Nov 10, 2008
Posted by Modesty Blasé
The perils of public transport are too much to bear for some of the delicate flowers of northwest London. Golders Green and Hendon have a seedy side and many anxious parents insist on driving their daughters to and from school to shield them from the sort of people they are likely to meet on the bus en route to one of the religious schools in the area.
I have a different approach - stick our kids on the bus and let them see how the other half lives: girls with skirts up to their pupik [belly button], with pallid skin and multiple earlobe piercings, smoking nervously and looking pathetic hanging onto the shirttails of smelly, gangly and pimply boys. This has to be the most effective antidote to any frum girl's aspirations to be 'normal.'
Sunday Aug 31, 2008
Posted by Modesty Blasé
Frum women dangle. Their car keys, usually attached to photos of their children and grandchildren, their house keys, iPod, supermarket card and gym locker tokens are all hanging off them. In one hand they are holding clunky wallets brimming with credit cards, dry cleaning receipts, parking tickets and cash. In the other, they are clutching onto an important database of sociological data currently held on the SIM card of their mobile phone. Find the phone and you will unlock all the important numbers a woman needs to know: shaytel macher, kosher butcher, mikvaot, rabbi, my cleaner and her sister in Poland
However, one item sits on the other side of the electronic mehitzah - the Blackberry. This symbol of manly achievement eludes most frum women, for it symbolises corporate power and importance. It means you've got a well-paying job.
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About this blog
Modesty Blasé
And G-d created Modesty. And Modesty grew up to be an Orthodox Jewish housewife and mother in London. She has a Pesach kitchen and a Polish cleaner. Her skirts are long and she often sports a trendy baseball cap with a fake ponytail. But lately, Modesty has been having some doubts. This is her commentary.
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Recent Comments
Devorah: Throughout the world, thousands of Jews assemble peacefully for pro-Israel rallies, and the mainstream media don't bother to report on it. A few dozen hateful Islamic fanatics behave obnoxiously and/or illegally while protesting against Israel or some perceived insult to Islam, and it's all over the media.
Cember: Jeanie: The problem is that the hyper-pious of any of the misogynistic Abrahamic religions seem to believe that all men are governed by their gonads, and therefore have strict rules that attempt to limit the pious horn-dogs. Since the rules are made by men, their method is precisely "blam[ing] the cat". That's why Orthodox women cover their hair, wear (usually) frumpy looking long skirts, and cover the skin on their upper bodies. Ditto for some Protestant sects. The Catholics used to put nuns into modified burkhas. Pious Moslems still do the burkha bit, or modify it with hijab and veil.
Jeanie - Texas: I'm late to the conversation & doubtful anyone will see this, but why so much legalism about physical appearance, particularly women? It's absurd and we all know it's used as a means of controlling others just for the hell of it. Yes, one should use common sense when going out in public, but let's face it - we all have our own interpretation of the word "modesty" and we're choking on gnats here. A dog is still a dog regardless of what the cat is wearing, so why blame the cat? I hereby declare all men are to wear orange & fushia polka-dot bowties until further notice. No exceptions!!
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