Questions & Answers - Good News Staff - April 1976

Good News Staff

QUESTION: "Is it wrong for women to wear pants? Many people quote me the scripture found in Deuteronomy 22:5 to teach against it." ANSWER: Deuteronomy 22:5 reads: "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God." This verse implies transvestism, a type of sexual deviation in which,the affected person derives an unnatural sense of pleasure from dressing like a member of the opposite sex. The rest of chapter 22 goes on to talk about adultery, fornication and incest. Practicing transvestism involves wearing the clothing of the opposite sex - but the type of clothing this entails would differ drastically from society to society. So these verses are not a prohibition against either women' or men wearing specific types of clothing such as pants, if those clothing styles are appropriate for the particular sex in a given society. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library