R-E-S-P-E-C-T: A post on fashion, self-worth, and sex ed

Parents, let's have a conversation.  How do you teach your children about respecting the Image-of-God-ness in others and in themselves when the prevailing narrative of our culture teaches anything but?  

Today, I watched a video that helped confirm something that I already knew - the way we dress directly affects the way people understand us and treat us.  But also, the way other people dress directly affects how we understand and treat them - we make snap judgements, and our minds are made up all from an image.  

So, let's talk about this.  Where do we draw the line?  How do we talk to our children about issues of image, self-worth, and respecting others?  Is the culture's message something to fight, or are there simply bigger fish to fry?

A few points for our conversation:

   Our culture's prevailing narrative: 
      Consume. Consume. Consume.
      Sex sells.
      Less is more (in terms of fabric yardage.  Certainly not in terms of accruing stuff.)
      The end justifies the means.  Other people are just stepping stones to our ultimate fulfillment - their feelings are just collateral damage.

      *We could add so much more in terms of harmful narrative, but I'll stop here for the purposes of this post.

   Our faith's narrative:
      Genesis 1:26-27 All people bear God's Image.  
      1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16  The Living God dwells within us.
      Matthew 25:31-46  The way we treat people is the way we treat God.

As a parent raising both a son and a daughter, I often think about how I will teach my children to respect both themselves and others.  I worry that my son will lose sight of the personhood of the girls he meets and get to a point in his life when he only sees them as objects to possess.  I worry that my daughter will find her self-worth in the eyes of the boys who give her attention for the way she looks and dresses.  Now, I know that my son may fall prey to finding self-worth in the eyes of another, and my daughter may objectify boys based on their looks.  But, generally this is how our culture raises our children to think.  

So, how are you raising your children?

This post is intentionally open-ended because I want us to discuss.  I want to learn from you, and I want you to learn from each other.  

At the bottom of this post, there is a place for your comments.  Please remain respectful of each person's comments.  Let's have a good, fruitful, and informed conversation together.