Modesty is a controversial topic in which interpretations are multiple, both in the scientific and popular spheres.
Some see it as positive, necessary to mark and protect certain social boundaries; others, on the other hand, think it is a variant of shyness or inhibition, which subtracts much more than it adds.
- Speeches showing that modesty has been lost are also frequent and regret that this has happened.
- For others.
- Freeing yourself from modesty means leaving behind a fear that limits complete experiences.
On a scientific level, modesty is considered a characteristic initially introduced by religion, its first manifestation being found in the Genesis of the Bible, when Adam and Eve are ashamed of their nudity for the first time after the original sin.
Then there are a number of allusions to modesty, always associated with nudity and sex.
“Modesty is an aesthetic virtue. ” -Jean Dolent-
Initially, the sense of modesty would be religious and directly associated with sexual intimacy. Basically, all Christian theologians condemn shame, although they do not attribute modesty to the character of virtue.
On the other hand, in the Muslim religion, modesty would be one of the great attributes of women.
The Bible condemns the testimony of nudity of the father or mother, as well as of brothers, children, uncles and parents, such as daughters-in-law, in-laws and brothers-in-law. It does not speak specifically of nudity between strangers. He seems to be decidedly focused on incest prevention.
The Church considers positive aspects such as modesty, modesty, prudence, and all values associated with modesty.
Humanist psychology, with several personalistic philosophers, has a broader view of modesty, associating it not only with nudity, but with intimacy in general.
Therefore, being prudish means having some apprehension to personal intimacy, in all your orders, that is, not allowing anyone to enter this field.
They also associate modesty with social and cultural barriers, which are the result of education and, in many cases, have to do with respect, both for you and for others, to say, doing or showing can be a way to break certain boundaries and lead to devaluation or impertinence.
It would be an extension of the concepts of public and private life. Some aspects are reserved for the former, while others correspond to a wider sphere.
Maintaining the separation between one perimeter and another would be healthy, as this means building different levels of trust, the greater the confidence, the less modesty and vice versa, that would be a way to protect the individual.
Psychoanalysis does not stray so far from humanist psychology in this regard, in this approach a clear distinction is made between what is shame and what is modesty.
In both cases there is a feeling of inhibition towards the other, however, in shame there is a feeling of “feeling discovered”, while in modesty there is a transgression of intimacy.
Shame occurs when we expose a facet or element that we want to keep secret, we are embarrassed when, for example, we speak in public in a very formal way and suddenly forget certain information.
We wanted to convey an image of connoisseurs and oblivion reveals that we may not know much, so we are exposed.
The feeling of modesty, on the other hand, occurs when someone enters our country without our permission, for example, when a person changes their clothes and realizes that someone is looking at them, or when someone says they know something about their private life that you consider intimate. and I don’t want to share.
This transgression generates a feeling of discredit rather than shame, a facet becomes visible, or fact, that we do not want to expose to all, this is not a source of shame, but of indignation, because it is about exceeding the will. .