Is male modesty the same as female modesty?

Personally I think our culture has been so engulfed by this idea of equating (no pun intended) the equal dignity of men and women to meaning that men and women are the same.

For example, sometimes in the comment sections, people will go on about “imagine if the roles were reversed”. Eg. A video of a woman beating her husband in public.

Yes, while it’s still wrong, it‘s still different.

I think nuance is always important, and just because two different scenarios are both not good, it doesn’t mean that they’re equally as bad.

A thought that comes to mind is this: Jesus is portrayed shirtless and naked. But Mary is never portrayed in skimpy clothing.

But at the same time, Mary’s nipples are often shown in sacred art.

Point is, I do think modesty is important for men and women, and while it doesn’t just mean men are allowed to post thirst traps and women can’t, but it’s just not the “same”, because we’re beautifully different.

CCC 2520 - 2527 is a good section to read on modesty.

I’ve taught the concept of modesty to high school students for the past 9 years. One of the ways I always teach it is that modesty (as a form of temperance) is moderation in one’s appearance, behavior, and manners intended to avoid impropriety or indecency. In this way, we move out of a conversation that is strictly about dress and into a wholistic understanding of modesty governing speech, behavior, dress, etc.

While there certainly are universal truths that could apply to modesty (avoid sexually provocative dress in public, avoid sexually charged conversations/innuendos, etc.), some parts of modesty in practice will look different in different cultures.

If it leads one into temptation or sin, or degrades a person or the gift of sex, it certainly should be avoided and modesty should prevail in that situation.

Modesty then looks different for everyone, not just men vs women, but each individual in their context and culture.