#1 – Philosopher, mechila, it is not the chumros that have allowed us to adhere to the letter of the law throughout the generations, it is limud Torah for men, and Tznius for women, as it is chazal meforeshes that Torah tavlin leyetzer horah, and nothing else, and it is the Chasam Sofer who stated clearly that the same is true for women, through their dargos of tznius.
Tznius is HALACHA, period. Certainly we can understand the mesorah of it, the hashkafa of it, most importantly, the beauty of it. However, it is halacha, and although I read only a few of the posts, I did see confusion. For example, those who spoke about the knee perhaps didn’t realize that this is simply untrue. There is no heter for skirts uncovering the knee, as by everyone’s definition, the knee in its entirety is part of the thigh. This does not differ whether one is Ashkenazi or Sephardi, Litvish or chassidish.
As for the deterioration of tznius in our generation, it is sad. Unfortunately, it is closely connected to the deterioration of self-esteem in today’s generation. Women today do not necessarily dress for men, rather they dress for women. It is so so sad. If people want to be mechanech their daughters, they need to first and foremost be taught their values as daughters to the king, daughters to the family, and their ability to give to society. Teaching our girls to fulfill their potential, bringing them back into the kitchen so that they can be taught that it is important when they give to their homes, neighbors, community, again, and not pushed in school to produce for a curriculum if it is hard for them to be successful, or forget success – hard for them to be noticed. Let’s face it – the inert messages given in the schools today are not the healthiest. Please do not mistake this to mean that girls should not be educated or pushed to their potential in academics. Anyone who has ever raised a child understands that one can encourage success in one area while being mechanech them on where the priority needs to be.
If we cherish our daughters, we can learn to communicate that so that they learn to cherish their value.
Hatzlocha Ubrocha.