How do you feel about women not wearing bras? Is it a Sin?

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Ada Lovelace

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I've never known anyone to wear a bra under a swimsuit. Some swimsuits are wired in a bra-like fashion. I think that's less to do with modesty and more to do with comfort/support.

Most of the swimsuits I've seen with the support of bras such as cups sewn in and underwire are either only available in larger sizes, or are considerably more expensive and only found online. I was helping my friend on her search for one because we do paddle board yoga, and since she's more endowed she wanted the support. She ended up ordering an ASICS swim top online, but it has the same amount of coverage as most others; the main appeal was the support. My brother's girlfriend is a beach volleyball player, and the team's uniform suit is sort of like a cross between a bikini top and a sports bra. It doesn't have cups or wire. They're more like what the Olympics team wears:
Olympics+Day+11+Beach+Volleyball+X6RtiSwCVmVl.jpg


I've never known anyone to wear a bra under a swimsuit, either, nor have I ever encountered anyone in person who would think a woman should feel compelled to to fit their ideal of "modesty." The fabric of most bras are not designed to be submerged in water; many are absorbent and will soak up the water and swell, possibly creating a safety hazard. Materials like cotton can break down in the water and cause fibers to clog filters, and the water absorption also impacts the water chemistry of the pool and the balance needed for it to be sanitary. They also can transport airborne and water contaminants. I learned all this at a camp that had strict rules about what could be worn in the pool, after having too many kids jump in wearing clothes and creating a host of problems. Only proper swimwear was permitted in the pool. It was a Christian camp, and the only prohibition on suits was the thong type, which weren't popular with our age group anyway. The tween and teen boys seemed to be perfectly capable of interacting with girls in typical swimwear.

If a man is going to need a woman to wear a bra under her swimsuit to avoid him "stumbling into sin" it would be best for him to avoid places such as the beach, waterparks, and public pools where normal swimwear is entirely appropriate, and oftentimes required. He'll have to skip most of the televised beach volleyball tournaments, too. :D
 
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RedPonyDriver

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Galatians 5:22-23 [Full Chapter]
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Quit blaming women for your problems. If a set of breasts make you crazy then maybe YOU need to get you a little more self control. Don't push it on me.
 
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LovebirdsFlying

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Some women can get away with it easier than others can. There used to be a litmus test recommended, that if a woman can place a pencil underneath, and it doesn't fall out when she lets go, she should wear one. That's assuming the purpose is for support. If it's mere modesty we're talking about, I don't see why an undershirt or a camisole can't accomplish the same thing. I would recommend some kind of layering. Today's clothing is made out of appallingly thin material.
 
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Ada Lovelace

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Some women can get away with it easier than others can. There used to be a litmus test recommended, that if a woman can place a pencil underneath, and it doesn't fall out when she lets go, she should wear one. That's assuming the purpose is for support. If it's mere modesty we're talking about, I don't see why an undershirt or a camisole can't accomplish the same thing. I would recommend some kind of layering. Today's clothing is made out of appallingly thin material.

I first learned about the "pencil test" from an interview Barbara Streisand gave a few years ago, in which she was asked to reveal something personal and she replied that she rarely ever wore a bra because of it. She didn't need one for support, and they weren't comfortable for her, so she simply didn't wear a bra. Women during the biblical era didn't wear bras either, since they were not yet invented.

There are men who need the support bras provide more than women do, yet they are mocked if they wear a "man bra" and some will attempt to condemn us for not wearing one regardless of need for it. When I first joined this forum I remember a contentious thread where the OP asserted that women who wore padded bras were sinning because they were being deceptive. Yet there's some males on this thread who think that if a female nipple is visible it's a sin, but for many women unless they're wearing a padded bra or a thick sweater it's difficult to fully conceal. I just wear what's comfortable for me, and what's appropriate for the setting I'll be in and activity I'll be doing.
 
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RedPonyDriver

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When I first joined this forum I remember a contentious thread where the OP asserted that women who wore padded bras were sinning because they were being deceptive. Yet there's some males on this thread who think that if a female nipple is visible it's a sin, but for many women unless they're wearing a padded bra or a thick sweater it's difficult to fully conceal.

With some men, you just can't win. Their need for controlling others to avoid self-control is unreal. They like to play the blame game, that it's the woman's fault for getting them all hot and bothered, when the truth is they have never bothered to cultivate self-control. I'm sick of it. Men, if you don't like what I'm wearing (or not wearing), keep it to yourself. I dress in a manner I find comfortable. Don't like it? Too bad.
 
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LovebirdsFlying

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Padded bras are a sin because they're deceptive?
SmileyROFLMFAO.gif

Funny because I've heard the same thing said about hair. On another website, I encountered a man who was angry about long hair on any woman over 40. (Mine is down to my hips, and I'm in my 50's.) He said he hates it when he sees a woman with long hair from behind as she walks down the street, and there he is enjoying the view, and suddenly she turns around, and he's all like "AAAAAH! You're old!" Somehow it's her fault, for being a buzzkill. What are those women trying to do to him? How dare they deceive him like that? He's infuriated! In his way of thinking, older women are obligated to cut their hair into one of those short, permed, oversprayed grandmotherish hairstyles, so he knows at a glance they're old and he won't bother trying to check them out.

I do believe in modesty, for both sexes. But honestly, we're all responsible for our own thought life. If temptation is too great, we, not they, are the ones obligated to make the changes. Can't handle the view at the beach? Either learn to, or don't go there.
 
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RedPonyDriver

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He said he hates it when he sees a woman with long hair from behind as she walks down the street, and there he is enjoying the view, and suddenly she turns around, and he's all like "AAAAAH! You're old!"

Why is it that men think they're exempt from developing self-control? I too have very long hair (it's at my waist right now)...but you can easily tell from the back that I'm short and chubby.

Can't handle the view at the beach? Either learn to, or don't go there.

There's a blogger who is constantly writing about modesty and frugality. Problem is, she's a hypocrite. She recently wrote about modesty and posted a picture of herself wearing a dress that had quite the plunging neckline. She writes about being frugal and then shows off a skirt she paid 70 bucks for...
 
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LovebirdsFlying

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I too have very long hair (it's at my waist right now)...but you can easily tell from the back that I'm short and chubby.
Me too, and I walk with a cane. I don't think anybody is in danger of seeing me from behind and mistaking me for any hot young chick.

I think it comes down to that grain of truth most arguments have at least one of. Here, one side says it's the woman's responsibility to cover up, and the other side says it's the man's responsibility not to gawk. Both sides have some semblance of a point.

I draw this analogy. Imagine knowing full well that a friend who battles food addiction is trying really hard to recover and stick to a healthy eating program. Now imagine deliberately eating something very rich and fattening right in front of your friend, just so you can tauntingly wave the loaded fork right under her nose as you bring it to your mouth. Between bites you say out loud, enunciating each syllable with exaggerated distinction, "MMMM. This is SO GOOD. It's the best I've ever eaten. It's just toooooooo bad you can't have any." Wouldn't that be cruel? (I *am* a food addict, and yes, I have had that done to me. Some people just don't like to see others recover, because then they lose their means of feeling superior to that person.)

Well, I'd say most of the ladies who are wearing Daisy Dukes on the hottest day of the year are not deliberately trying to taunt the men. They're only trying not to pass out from heat exhaustion. Let her walk down the street, her only mission being to get where she's trying to go, and some men are going to imagine that she's waving a fork full of forbidden delicious food under their noses. Her fault? Of course not, unless she's deliberately walking in a slinky way to toy with him. She probably isn't, but some men are going to claim she is. No, we don't want to create a stumbling block if we can avoid doing so. However, some people are going to trip over their own two feet and then *say* it's your stumbling block they fell over.
 
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RedPonyDriver

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Well, I'd say most of the ladies who are wearing Daisy Dukes on the hottest day of the year are not deliberately trying to taunt the men. They're only trying not to pass out from heat exhaustion. Let her walk down the street, her only mission being to get where she's trying to go, and some men are going to imagine that she's waving a fork full of forbidden delicious food under their noses. Her fault? Of course not, unless she's deliberately walking in a slinky way to toy with him. She probably isn't, but some men are going to claim she is. No, we don't want to create a stumbling block if we can avoid doing so. However, some people are going to trip over their own two feet and then *say* it's your stumbling block they fell over.

I live in the desert...and it gets HOT!! So, there are times when I'm going to go outside wearing as little as I can legally get away with...I go for sundresses, thinner material skirts, tank tops, shorts...it's 110 degrees for heaven's sake! But, if you get hot and bothered...that's on you. I don't care if you're people watching on the Las Vegas strip (and man you see some sights there)...that's NO reason for you to get all hot and bothered and think you have to act on those impulses....and if you're afraid you'll act on those impulses, then don't go there. It's not my job to cover myself to keep YOU from losing cranial blood flow. That's on you. But, men think that they are blameless when it comes to those sorts of things, it's our fault. I quoted Galatians 5:22-23 in post #462...and well...men need to take a good read and learn to live it.
 
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Darkhorse

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But, men think that they are blameless when it comes to those sorts of things, it's our fault. I quoted Galatians 5:22-23 in post #462...and well...men need to take a good read and learn to live it.

SOME men, not ALL men! :)
 
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