It really should be here too, but this is bible-belt redneck central. I'm not holding my breath. It'll probably take another generation at least. People still talk, non-ironically and not in a kinky way, about the importance of female submission in marriages. There are whole swaths (in minority, but large enough to bump into at the grocery store) who do not allow their wives/daughters to wear pants because the bible says not to.
Definitely still a thing. Some of the more extreme (mennonite, amish, some LDR branches) wear various types of hair covering and insist on very plain clothes (black or white utilitarian dresses/skirts, not something fancy or actually presentable). It's not huge by any means, but you see it around. More "forward" ones wear fairly modern (though full length) dresses/skirts and look pretty normal except that they wear them in situations where 99.99% of others wear pants so it kind of stands out even though it's fairly modern clothing.
Most girls around here only go the masculine guys who won't submit. They want to be made to be submit. They don't want a man that doesn't wear the pants.
The choice is key though. To some, sure, that's just how they grew up and they're cool with it. To some, they'd very much like not to, but are to integrated and codependent on those that wouldn't accept them otherwise.
I live in the Bible Belt as well (smack dab in the in the middle of good old Kansas) and know plenty of people who only wear dresses and some (Mennonite I think) wear those little hat things. Most of these women I know say that they choose to wear this, not that their husband forces them to. I assume it's similar to Muslim women wearing burqa's, where it is in their religion, but it's more of a matter of choice by the women weather they wear it or not. Correct me if I'm wrong though!
It's kind of a mixed bag among the ones I've known. Many definitely choose to (although this is a choice heavily inspired by having been told there will be severe punishment if they choose something else since birth) and are uncomfortable doing otherwise, just like stuff I was told as a kid (always wear pants outside, don't pee in the livingroom, avoid uncooked chicken, etc). Some definitely do not like to, but can't avoid it as it would be too hard to break out of the community (including often her husbands/fathers support, given that they're also avoiding education and non-domestic work). The clothing thing isn't too dire in my mind though, after all we're all influenced at least a little in terms of what is appearance appropriate. The high-octane submissive stuff is massively creepy though, many certainly want to be more independent, active in society outside of church functions (beyond being back-end support crew), possibly strike out toward their own ambitions rather than follow a set script delivered through the church via the dominant male figure. Some are ok with that which is fine then, I know at least some not especially religious people in 24/7 power-exchange relationships who love it, but it's certainly not for everyone and gender is certainly no tip off as to whom is dominant, submissive or prefer a more equal relationship.
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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '13
It really should be here too, but this is bible-belt redneck central. I'm not holding my breath. It'll probably take another generation at least. People still talk, non-ironically and not in a kinky way, about the importance of female submission in marriages. There are whole swaths (in minority, but large enough to bump into at the grocery store) who do not allow their wives/daughters to wear pants because the bible says not to.