I have looked at a lot of other sites on the web to try and find anything remotely related to the question I am about to ask and it was all in vain.
There's a lot of debate in Christian culture about dress codes, especially for girls, but my question is not related to modesty or whether my pants are too tight. Apparently I am an unusual case because I could not find anyone else who had the same dilemma as I.
The question is: Is it okay for me, as a professing Christian, to dress androgynously?
For any of those who don't know, androgyny means to not really be masculine but not really be feminine, and I am only using it in terms of aesthetic appearance. Before you jump to conclusions I want to make it absolutely clear that I am in no way gender-confused or anything like that. I'm happy to be a girl and I want to be a loving wife and mom someday so please do not read into my question in this way. I have other personal reasons that I will now proceed to explain.
As many of you may have noticed, our current culture is extremely sexualized, and the female body specifically is extremely sexualized. There's no way to get away from it. You can unplug the TV and filter your internet searches but it is everywhere in advertising, social media, and even in the people we know.
As a woman this makes me very uncomfortable, especially knowing that there's really nothing I can do about it except dress modestly. Ever since puberty I've been somewhat uncomfortable with my body. It wasn't a big deal because being home schooled I was home a lot but now that I'm in college and around people a lot I've started to realize just how much I don't like it. And this is where it get's confusing because it's not that I don't like how I look, I do like how I look, but I don't like the way culture sexualizes how I look. That's not to say I don't like to be feminine, I just don't like to be feminine when other people are around. I'm sure it's something I'll grow out of once I get into the dating scene and start thinking about marriage but for now I just don't desire to be seen as sexual.
The main thing I've always had trouble with is my, well, bosom. I've always thought it was inconvenient and wished I had a smaller (or flat) chest. Again, I'm sure my outlook will change once I'm ready to be in a relationship but for now it's useless to me. I like to wear a chest binder sometimes (I bought it for cosplays) to flatten it out but I'm worried what my friends and family will think of me (because it really is a kind of complicated thing to explain). I like how it looks and it actually makes me more comfortable being more feminine in other things (jewelry, makeup, clothes, etc) and I feel less sexualized.
I know in the Old Testament they mention men aren't supposed to wear women'd clothes and vice versa, but I don't want to look like a man, I just want to look a little less like a woman while still being feminine but in a different way than our culture defines femininity. Is it okay to willingly have a flat chest? And if so, how do I answer the tactful question of "where did your boobs go?" to the people I know in less words than these?
I'd really like to hear people's opinions because this question has been nagging at me for a long time and maybe it's not a big deal but maybe it is and I didn't know where else I could go to find answers because it's not exactly a common problem apparently.
