By Yeng Abinales
But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her,
hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.
(Matthew 5:28 )
But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her,
hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.
(Matthew 5:28 )
Father Connell Answers Moral Questions
by Very Rev. Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R., S.T.D., LL.D., L.H.D.
(Catholic University of America Press, 1959)
Bathing Beauty Contests/Cheerleading
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Question: What decision should priests give in regard to certain spectacles, quite common nowadays in America, wherein the attention of the spectators is deliberately drawn to the physcial charms of scantily clad girls? The example to which I refer particularly are the “bathing beauty contest” and the “majorette” who marches before a band. Many priests seem to regard such procedures as perfectly lawful. At any rate, they do not explicitly condemn girls who take part. And certainly, if we can judge by names, many of the bathing beauty contestants are Catholics. I have even heard that some Catholic bands have majorettes. It seems high time for us to take a stand on these modern Amercian customs, either by pronouncing them perfectly innocent or by vigorously condemning them.
Answer: The theological principle pertinent to the problem proposed by our correspondent is found in our manuals under the subject of passive scandal. According to this principle, a person is not permitted to perform an action (even though the action is perfectly good in itself) which will certainly or probably be an occasion of sin to others, unless the reason for performing this action is sufficiently grave to justify him in omitting an act of charity—namely, the prevention of the sin in question. This principle is simply an application of the more general “principle of the twofold effect” usually found in the treatise on human acts. Now, the facts in the case proposed are these: at the so-called “bathing beauty contests” (if one can judge by the newspaper pictures and accounts) the participants, garbed in the scantiest costumes, appear before the spectators to be gazed at and evaluated for perfection of physical beauty and form. In some instances even measurements are taken to determine how close they approach to presumably ideal standards. The affair bears a great resemblance to a dog-show or a horse-show, except that human beings, instead of irrational animals, are the objects of scrutiny—and they are presented in a manner that offers a strong sex appeal. The other example adduced by the questioner, that of the majorette, would seem to refer to the case of a girl in a short skirt, who marches before a band, twirling a baton and exhibiting a considerable amount of her anatomy with her gyrations and high-stepping. This may not be so crude and indecent as the beauty contest, yet it undoubtedly deserves to be put in the same category. For its main purpose is unquestionably to call attention to the physical attractiveness of the girl, at least when the band is composed of men or boys.
Certainly, if the chief object were to secure an efficient drum-major, the normal thing would be to have a boy or man perform this function for a male band. Very little knowledge of human nature is required to realize that girls who participate in bathing beauty contest or act as majorettes (in the way described) provide an occasion of sin to some (at least) of the spectators. Indeed, it can be unhesitatingly asserted that when an exhibition of this kind is witnessed by a large number of persons, some mortal sins are sure to be committed, at least in the form of morose delectations and impure desires. It should be emphasized that we are concerned with cases in which not only the manner of dress of the girls is a factor, but also the fact that they are intended to be gazed at closely. The question therefore, comes down to this: Has a girl sufficient reason to exhibit herself in either of the ways described with the certainty that mortal sins will be committed of which she will be the occasion?
Certainly, if the chief object were to secure an efficient drum-major, the normal thing would be to have a boy or man perform this function for a male band. Very little knowledge of human nature is required to realize that girls who participate in bathing beauty contest or act as majorettes (in the way described) provide an occasion of sin to some (at least) of the spectators. Indeed, it can be unhesitatingly asserted that when an exhibition of this kind is witnessed by a large number of persons, some mortal sins are sure to be committed, at least in the form of morose delectations and impure desires. It should be emphasized that we are concerned with cases in which not only the manner of dress of the girls is a factor, but also the fact that they are intended to be gazed at closely. The question therefore, comes down to this: Has a girl sufficient reason to exhibit herself in either of the ways described with the certainty that mortal sins will be committed of which she will be the occasion?
For my part I think that the scandal arising from the incidents in question cannot be justified by the temporal advantages just mentioned, and I protest vigorously against these loathsome customs in modern American life, particularly when Catholic girls are the participants. I would not hesitate to tell a girl who is planning to enter a bathing beauty contest that if she does so she will be guilty of mortal sin.
In support of this grave denunciation the words of St. Alphonsus (referring to a girl who knows that her presence will be the occasion of sins of desire on the part of a man) are appropriate: “I could not excuse her from mortal sin if, led by vanity, she would deliberately (data opera) offer herself to the gaze of a man, even though she does not intend to scandalize him.” (Theologia moralis [Gaude, Rome, 1905], Lib. II, n. 53)
I have heard of a bishop who expelled a girl from a Catholic college because she took part in a bathing beauty contest. I have also heard of a Holy Name parade from which all majorettes were excluded by order of the diocesan chancery. But unfortunately, such decisive action, commendable though it is, seems to be the exception. Catholic girls appear before the eyes of a large group of men in a manner calculated to inspire lustful thoughts and desire, and yet their pastors have little or nothing to say about it. Is it not time that priests in the United States do more than they are doing to prevent the numerous sins of scandal that are being committed in our land under the flimsy pretext of promoting the appreciation of beauty and of art—sins which are gross violations of the norms of purity proclaimed by the tradition of the Catholic Church and the instructions of many Popes?
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In support of this grave denunciation the words of St. Alphonsus (referring to a girl who knows that her presence will be the occasion of sins of desire on the part of a man) are appropriate: “I could not excuse her from mortal sin if, led by vanity, she would deliberately (data opera) offer herself to the gaze of a man, even though she does not intend to scandalize him.” (Theologia moralis [Gaude, Rome, 1905], Lib. II, n. 53)
I have heard of a bishop who expelled a girl from a Catholic college because she took part in a bathing beauty contest. I have also heard of a Holy Name parade from which all majorettes were excluded by order of the diocesan chancery. But unfortunately, such decisive action, commendable though it is, seems to be the exception. Catholic girls appear before the eyes of a large group of men in a manner calculated to inspire lustful thoughts and desire, and yet their pastors have little or nothing to say about it. Is it not time that priests in the United States do more than they are doing to prevent the numerous sins of scandal that are being committed in our land under the flimsy pretext of promoting the appreciation of beauty and of art—sins which are gross violations of the norms of purity proclaimed by the tradition of the Catholic Church and the instructions of many Popes?
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