Deuteronomy 22:5 –
“A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the LORD your God.”
Now we are getting into the nuts and bolts of the Law and are starting to see some things that seem silly to us or extreme. If you skip ahead a bit you will find more stoning’s for adultery this time. Notice the man and women gets “stoned” and then go back to the woman Jesus saved from a stoning. She was accused of adultery also, but the man was not getting stoned to death with her. Now was Jesus showing the hypocrisy of the way the Law was being enforced or how grace and forgiveness eliminate much of the Law?
I wanted to focus on this verse today since the “Women’s Movement” aka “Women’s Lib” has changed the way women dress. It is common today to see women in traditional men’s outfits. Blue jeans are the most common thing we point at as being traditional men’s wear. It is common today to see women in jeans, granted most are cut for the women’s figure. So with that said are they really men’s clothing?
Also, what about men who wear women’s cut jeans? In recent times this has actually become a fad, which I cannot understand. I ordered some jeans online that looked “normal” but were women’s cut, they were so uncomfortable to wear. Now a woman could wear men’s cut comfortably and “get away with it” but the question is where is the line? Should a woman only wear dresses? Is it ok for men to wear women’s cut jeans since they “are” traditional men’s wear?
I think most agree it’s a little odd when men start really dressing as women. Society for the most does not accept men in “drag” as acceptable attire. Women can get away with wearing men’s clothing but will get the “butch” label. As times and fashions change this Law still applies, there is clothing designed for women and there is clothing designed for men. Some styles may stem from the other genders style, but the design makes them unique to the gender. I think this “offense" is pointed more towards the “trans-gender” types who are trying to be the other gender more than just wearing clothing. Today this is looked at as intolerance to object to dress and therefore is used to nullify the Law. Is it a sin to wear women’s clothing? No idea at this point, the Law says yes but culture today says no.