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Why are Christian Girls Taking Seductive Selfies?

At Charisma Magazine, Kristen Clark explores the phenomenon of young girls taking seductive selfies – even, to her surprise, young Christian girls. After all, aren’t Christians called to a higher standard? Aren’t we supposed to “flee” from all sexual immorality?

But, she confesses, she was that young selfie-snapping girl in high school.

“Without being told how to pose seductively, we were pros and knew exactly what to do. We proudly posted our photoshoot to Facebook and waited for the compliments to come in.”

And what was the motive behind her less-than-commendable actions? She writes:

“For me, I posted those pictures because I wanted guys to notice me. I wanted people to compliment ‘how pretty I was.’ I loved hearing the praise and affirmation from my friends. It was never an accident that I posted a picture of myself. It was always intentional and planned. I had seen enough images of fashion models to know what a ‘hot’ picture was supposed to look like.”

Clark writes that giving into cultural norms like the seductive selfie isn’t truly innocent fun, or a way to boost self-esteem. Rather, it’s contributing to girls becoming “lonely, sad, depressed, insecure and needy,” and that we must put aside such vanity and self-focus to truly glorify God.

Crosswalk author Debra Fileta reminisces on the confusing nature of adolescence in her article 10 Things Every Teenage Girl Needs to Know. As parents, she writes, there are some really crucial things we must instill in our teen girls – things she wished she'd known as a young teen. One thing she says we must tell teens is: how you dress will attract a certain kind of guy.

“I know you get it girls- we all want to catch their eye don’t we? But what we don’t always realize is that when you catch a guy with your body, you’ll have to keep him with your body. There is so much more about who you are than the size of your boobs or the size of your waist. Learn to respect yourself, and accentuate the beauty of your heart, your mind, and your spirit. Because those are exactly the kind of things that will snag a really good man.”

She also says to remind your teen daughter not to care so much about what people think.

“It’s easy to place our value in what people think of us, but we’ll find ourselves on a never-ending emotional roller coaster when we realize we will never, ever make everyone happy. Love life, make good choices, do the right thing, and always live for an audience of One.”

So, what do you think about the Very “Selfie” World that we live in today? Check out Brent Rinehart's piece on 10 Ways to Be Selfless in a “Selfie” Culture!

Debbie Holloway is the Family Life Editor for Crosswalk.com

Publication date: July 16, 2014