Modest swimwear?

[catholicresistence]

No, God's standard of modesty is the same as it always has been, God does not change.

 

Please explain, then, how it is modest now for a woman to wear shortened sleeves and skirts, and go about sans headcovering, if it was not modest in Mary's day.

 

Mary would have been possibly in a burkha-like attire (not strictly, but very similar). may not always have been healthy for the body to "cook" under alot of clothes, though safer in regards to skin cancer.

[Sophia]

Covering up while not in the water, if the "beach dress" or what have you is modest, would satisfy these requirements, I think. However, it wouldn't counteract what other people are wearing. For men, at least, there is a real occasion of sin in being in a place where many women are about dressed only in bikinis.

I agree, but the argument hasn't been about going to the beach.  Obviously, if someone wanted to go swimming, crowds of mixed people should be avoided.

 

If there is an absolute norm, what is it?  I have already pointed out that the wholesome wear suits uncover much more skin than what is usually considered a modest dress. That in and of itself is a difference in standards, and it seems that everyone refuses to answer it.  Again, why is it okay for a woman to allow herself to be examined by a male doctor?  Doctors don't have temptations? 

[BlGeorgeNapper]

Obviously this discussion is going around in circles. The blame for  this is not equally distributed, however. We've got a group of people  who keep saying 'You've got to wear on the beach (or even in the water)  what would demanded, by modesty, for wearing in the street.'
 
  To this another group of people have made the objection that what  modesty demands is relative to the circumstances. It doesn't demand  veils on women in public, as it once did. It doesn't demand covering of  shoulders and thighs in the course of a medical examination. And so on.
 
  Anyone who accepts these examples has got to come up with a better  argument against LandsEnd-type swimwear. But they don't. Not one of the  'modesty is absolute' gang have even tried, or even pretended, to  answer this objection. They just repeat over and over again their  original claim. This means the argument can't progress.
 
  Since we've been talking about the etiquette of these discussions,  perhaps it would be appropriate to point out that to ignore an  objection to one's view, however obviously wrong it may seem to you, is  rude to the objector. If the objection has been put several times,  politely and clearly, by several different people, ignoring it becomes  not just rude, but downright weird. It creates the impression, on this  forum, that this a bunch of people with no concern for rational  thought, courtesy, or the truth.
 
  What I say is: if you have absolutely nothing to say, why say it?

[Mernoc]

I am not suggesting people start wearing burkha's however they are actually very cool to wear, a person wearing a burkha actually suffers less from the heat than a person with a large proportion of their skin bared, the idea that because it is hot we need to strip off is a myth.

[Traditio_in_Radice]

Anyone who accepts these examples has got to come up with a better argument against LandsEnd-type swimwear. But they don't. Not one of the 'modesty is absolute' gang have even tried, or even pretended, to answer this objection. 

 

I assume you are referring to that pink thing that was posted several pages up that looked like a floral design "teddy"? I know that I am entering this discussion quite late in the proceedings, but I'll offer my reasons at least as to why I think such swimwear is inappropriate and would not clothe my [hypothetical] daughters in that for swimming.

 

It reveals all of the legs, arms, upper chest, and shoulders. There is a reason why those so-called teddy lingerie things are marketed as being "sexy" or something for a woman to please her husband with ... it's provocative. It barely conceals anything. I daresay that most men have their passions excited to see a woman so clad.

 

I think there is a clear difference between that and, say, the "modest swimwear" picture posted by Nicolette which clearly covers a lot more and is not cut in such a way as to be enticing. An argument could be made that even these are pushing things too much ... but I really don't think they compare to the Land's End swimsuit.

[VoxClamantis]

I am not suggesting people start wearing burkha's however they are actually very cool to wear, a person wearing a burkha actually suffers less from the heat than a person with a large proportion of their skin bared, the idea that because it is hot we need to strip off is a myth.

 

Robes and such in deserts are worn to protect from the sun, sand, and wind, not from "heat" per se. If it were otherwise, we'd see men roofing houses while wrapped up in blankets. If you took a blanket and held it up over your head for shade, or if you used it loosely over you to keep sun from shining directly on your skin, what you say would make sense insofar as direct sun on the skin feels hot. But sitting in the still-hot shade with a blanket on would be stupid, as would be wrapping oneself up like that on merely hot days, especially ones with nice breezes that would help sweat evaporate.

[Marty]

oh no....I've just realised...the smileys have no clothes on

except for....

Not good enough Vox...

[Mernoc]

Wearing loose cotton robes actually helps sweat evaporate more efficiently also wearing another layer of cotton under the loose outer garment actually keeps you cooler rather than warmer as you would think.

The key is to wear loose clothing made of the right materials, if you do this I guarantee you will be more comfortable wearing clothes than not in the hot weather.

[Sophia]

I am not suggesting people start wearing burkha's however they are actually very cool to wear

I don't think you meant to say "Burka."   Yes, long robes with loose sleeves are cool to wear because they allow air to circulate under them, but Burkas are neither cool, nor comfortable to wear.   A woman can hardly breathe or see when under one, and it does not allow heat to escape  Burkas are also worn in addition to a regular full set of clothes. 

[DominusTecum]

If this thread is not about the suitability of mixed swimming, perhaps it should be? It is, by definition, about the swimsuits which are necessary should one (a female, by default) desire to swim in mixed company. However, a better argument would be against swimming much, if any, in mixed company, given the afforementioned quote by Pius XII, the difficulty of finding modest swimwear, and the reluctance of many women to wear this modest swimwear for fear of "sticking out" or not having as fulfilling a swimming experience.

 

A formal gown might be unsuitable for the grocery store, but NOT because it "reveals too much." On the contrary, it would be unsuitable because it's far too formal and conspicuous for the circumstances. For the same reason, I don't see how it's morally possible to "put modesty on hold," just because of the heat, or the pleasure one takes from taking a dip in the lake/ocean/whatever. All it is is an excuse that Satan gives you to take off most of your clothes and parade around in front of men, and I don't see how that can be justified in the least. If it can, please tell me how.