Rah Rah Siss Boom Bah, Yaaaaaaaaaaaay Jesus girls

This has bothered me for a number of years now. I hope that my thoughts make sense and appear to be in an orderly fashion. As in any good story, or complaint, let's start from the beginning. Shall we?

I was born in Florida, raised in the church, and thought that my life was pretty normal. Of course I got picked on and made fun of in school pretty much like any kid. Yeah, there was the "I hate Alissa" club and boys ran from me like I had the plague. Let's just be kind and say that the awkward phase lasted quite a while for me.

At any rate, by the time my junior year in high school came around, there were boys everywhere. The awkward phase had run it's course. I didn't want much of anything to do with them (the boys that had tormented me) because if they couldn't be decent through the funky phases, why should I give them my attention now? Of course flirting was fun and I did enjoy my share of free desserts at restaurants. ;-)
In the summer, living in Florida, short shorts and tank tops with spaghetti straps were the uniform of the day. Pretty much ALL girls/women dress like that when it's hot and no one pays much attention. Exposed flesh is NORMAL in this tropical heat. Men seldom give a second glance because they are inundated with the sight.

In these teen years, I still attended church regularly. However, some things did change a little. For example, I was always cast as the "fallen woman", "the prostitute longing for Jesus", or even Mary Magdalen. What the heck? Why? It bothered me, but, it was fun to be in the church's drama program so I went along with it.

Then came the time for me to go off to college. I had chosen and been accepted into Southeasten College (now Southeastern University) in Lakeland, Florida. It was a private Christian college and my declared major was Psychology. How excited I was! I packed my belongings and moved into the dorm. The GIRLS ONLY dorm. On our first night there, a dorm meeting was held telling us the evils of boys/men. What?! Evil? No way! Boys were fun and harmless. Well, not according to these "ladies".

I use that term loosely because, well, many of them appeared to enjoy the company of women more than men. No judgment. Personal preference is up to the individual. Anyway, I disagreed with their endless and mind numbing speeches.

I decided to call these females members of the "Rah Rah Siss Boom Bah Yaaaaaay Jesus" club. There were fines for my clothing! FINES as in MONEY to be paid for wearing a tank top. What?! It's FLORIDA and especially HOT because Lakeland is in the middle of the state with no ocean breeze. I was at least used to the ocean breeze.

My argument was, no matter what a girl wears, if a guy has issues with lust, he will continue to have those issues. The rebuttal was given that "sisters in Christ should no do anything to be a stumbling block to their brothers in Christ". Well, that's all well and good but, I was not going to suffocate for these morons. So, more money came out of my pocket (hundreds of dollars by the way) and I married and moved off campus ASAP.

Obviously the marriage was a mistake, but, there was some freedom of wardrobe. Hey, a girl has to look on the bright side. ;-)
Now, fast forward about twelve/thirteen years. Those same girls, members of the "Rah Rah" club are just as prude as ever.

Oh yes, I have seen many of them around. Churches, fb, myspace, etc. Many of them are still unmarried and I can't help but wonder if a few of them have even been kissed. Do they still believe that men are the lust filled enemy? What about us as women? We have lustful desires. During those ridiculous dorm meetings NOT ONCE were our own desires brought up. Imagine that! How scandalous, a woman that enjoys sex! Well, it is fun and God Himself created it. Why not enjoy his marvelous creation?

Yes, I still wear short shorts during the summer, tank tops, bikinis, and sun dresses. I still get flirted with (although the only flirtation that counts is from my husband - the one I should have married the first time around), and I still consider myself average looking. If anyone has a problem with it, they can get over it or think of other things.

Obviously, I love Jesus. He is the reason for the happiness and joy in my life. I am thankful for all of His wonderful and undeserved gifts. That being out of the way, I don't feel it necessary to be one of those awful "Rah Rah" girls.

Once again, I hope that made sense. Talk to ya'll later.

Alissa