Short Skirts, No Sex: Mixed Messages for Moldovan Women

Dirt roads and BMWs. Short skirts and conservative relationships. Strict religious beliefs and abusive alcoholic behavior. Life in a contradictory culture can be difficult. The culture in Moldova disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior at times. Basically, things just don’t always make sense and are often baffling.

During one of the last tutoring sessions I had with my Romanian teacher in my village, we discussed the western and risque dress of the young Moldovan women in our town. Their clothes cover the essentials but that is about it. Their outfits scream sex and yet they are extremely conservative intimately (due to morals and religious beliefs). I don’t think these young women realize just how mixed their messages can be or how confusing it can be to an outsider.

It also got me thinking about the human trafficking issues here in Moldova as well as domestic violence. Is pop culture’s influence on the way these young women dress guilty in part for these problems plaguing the females of this tiny Eastern European country?

Short Skirts, No Sex: Mixed Messages for Moldovan Women.

My tutor was astounded with my observation but agreed with my argument that saying “sex” with your attire is not appropriate when your real message is: “Hello. I’m a good girl who goes to church. Sex? No thanks, I’m saving myself for marriage.”

It’s just something to think about next time you are people watching at an outdoor café or standing in line for a bus ticket, or getting ready in the morning… “What are my clothes saying about me today and is that message consistent with what my heart and mind would say?”

Read more about Emily’s experiences in Moldova at: http://www.emily-preposterouspursuitofplace.blogspot.com/

Photo for Short Skirts, No Sex: Mixed Messages for Moldovan Women by Emily Getty.