The thin line between modern dressing and decency

By Macharia Kung’u

Technology is advancing rapidly and the youth, mostly in towns, seem to understand the meaning of modernization better. They have chosen dressing style as their specialty to show how advanced they have become.

In the past, culture limited the youths on what to wear, where to wear what and how to wear it. Different functions had different dressing styles, for example people would dress differently in occasions like wedding, dancing and circumcision.
The appropriate dressing code when adhered to accorded one good reputation in the community. The elders on the other hand punished those who failed to follow the norms appropriately so as to act as a deterrent to others. Nowadays the opposite is happening.

Currently, the youths are now considering traditional culture as archaic. They, while comparing themselves with the western world say that culture needs reform.
“I can no longer sell traditional attires in my shop as few people if anyone will buy them,” Says Kogi, a trader at Muthurwa market in Sipili, Ng’arua.

In pursuit of modernization and assimilation, the youths find themselves in conformity the road. They tend to dress like musicians, actors, models and other celebrities in order to be seen to be moving with the current trends.
They give little or no thoughts as to why they should do so and whether they are ready to deal with the repercussions.

If we take girls as our example, the way they clad is at times in revealing clothes leave most men with the desire to see beyond the cover.
Due to moral decadency, girls are walking half naked so as to ape modeling stars. This has largely been promoted by the media which advertises these types of clothes in the name of business but conversely affecting future generations.
Immorality chips in and considering the presence of HIV/AIDS, the ‘dot com’ generation becomes doomed.

In conclusion, we are aware that every car has an engine and every component that makes it run. Thus, you do not need to be shown the engine to confirm that is indeed a car. Likewise, some modern attire is so revealing yet we know that the wearer has an ‘engine’. We know you have it and you therefore do not have to show or keep reminding us.