For our forum discussion today we’d like to know your opinion on this question submitted by Cowgirl:

What is modesty and, more to the point, how can we decide if a particular hairstyle, piece of clothing, or grooming practice is modest?

I am trying to teach my daughter. Having been raised in the church, the only thing I have to go on is, “cover specific body parts,” and, “only wear one pair of earrings.” I’d like to teach her something better than that.

I would like for her to consider what her appearance communicates to other people in our culture but that is too arbitrary a basis to pin everything on, especially as she moves between a culture at church and a culture at school. I’d like for her to consider why she wants to wear a particular item and how she expects to feel in it, but that also seems insufficient. So if you were considering a hairstyle or a piercing or a piece of clothing, how would you determine whether or not it is modest?