day no. 16,330: what not to wear

Deuteronomy 22:5

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.

That which pertaineth to men in this particular instance is militaristic. It may extend, in practice, beyond that, but the principle begins with battle. Men were made for warfare and there is apparel associated with this office. A man may not always be dressed for war per se, but he must dress in a way that allows him to prepare for war and to be ready when called upon. All that to say, his clothes complement his responsibilities. His clothes match his work and the body he's been given to do it. Hard work, hard bodies. Hard, not as in difficult, but as in muscular, pointed, and piercing.

Likewise, women are called to cultivate the lands conquered by the men and dress accordingly. Cultures are built by women nurturing life, cultivating beauty, and making home.  Their clothes match their work and the bodies they've been given to do it. Soft work, soft bodies. Soft, not as in easy, but as in elegant and aesthetic.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, not idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, not drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Effeminacy is a sin. That is to say, gender-bending is a sin. Androgyny is a sin. It is not a quirk or character flaw, it is akin to idolatry and adultery and shares an neighborhood according to the apostle's letter to the Corinthians. In other words, men should look like and act like men; women should look like and act like women. Neither should do anything to create confusion and each should go to great lengths to clarify should any confusion arise.

“For one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, to arrange his hair at the looking-glass, to shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them, how womanly!…This is a meretricious and impious form of snare. For God wished women to be smooth, and rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane; but had adorned man, like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him, as an attribute of manhood, with a shaggy chest – a sign of strength and rule.” — Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor

A man should be ashamed to be womanly, not because being a woman is shameful, but because being a man who is confused for a woman is. It is bad for a man to be womanly precisely because he isn't one. There is nothing wrong with femininity. In fact, for a woman, it is her glory. For her, it would be wrong to be manly. She should be ashamed to be butch. Not because masculinity is a disgrace, but because being a woman who is confused for being a man is. She is not a man and should not be confused for one.

“The beard signifies the courageous; the beard distinguishes the grown men, the earnest, the active, the vigorous. So that when we describe such, we say, he is a bearded man.” — St. Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 133

Wearing a beard is putting on a brave face. Men were made for courage and intimidation. They were crafted to subdue evil and beards were given to men to make wickedness think twice in their presence. A beard reflects the nature of who men were made to be. You can, for sure, be a man without one; but any man without one would surely not be less manly for growing one, whereas most men diminish their masculinity by shaving theirs off. All that to say, beards become men and masculinity.