Bikinies

[Inperfected]

Man do I have some thigns to reply to here!

I think that bikinis are fine unless they are revealing.

I'm sorry? I thought most, if not all "bikinis" (not tankinis) are!

I'm sorry, but bikinis are just too revealing. And it's not only about covering the skin, but also about not being so skin-tight that everything can be seen anyway.

It is rare for a bikini not to be skin tight. Very rare indead. For the simple fact that the only cover the breasts! I think people are confusing them with takini. (what is like a singlet top, and also rarely comes in non-skin tight.)

There will always be something attracting about a woman unless she woman goes around totally covered (eg a burka), and even that is not a complete guarantee.

Heh. I was once told in my not so god days that I had 2 choices of what to wear. Immodest and the guy didn't have to imagine, and extrememly modest, where he'd end up imagining what I was wearing under it anyway.

I don't believe that's it's up to women to dress appropriately to prevent men from lusting after them.

I don't either to a point. If i am to wear a LOW cut top, I'm asking for it, and its my fault. If I am wearing relitively modest clothing, slight cleavage showing, and a little belly if my top rode up a little, I don't care. And if someone chooses to look down the clevage, tis' his fault.

I show what I will if it looks nice and reasonable. I only show as much that a guy doesn't "need" to look.

 

[Deliberatetourist]

Man do I have some thigns to reply to here!

I'm sorry? I thought most, if not all "bikinis" (not tankinis) are!

It is rare for a bikini not to be skin tight. Very rare indead. For the simple fact that the only cover the breasts! I think people are confusing them with takini. (what is like a singlet top, and also rarely comes in non-skin tight.)

Heh. I was once told in my not so god days that I had 2 choices of what to wear. Immodest and the guy didn't have to imagine, and extrememly modest, where he'd end up imagining what I was wearing under it anyway.


I don't either to a point. If i am to wear a LOW cut top, I'm asking for it, and its my fault. If I am wearing relitively modest clothing, slight cleavage showing, and a little belly if my top rode up a little, I don't care. And if someone chooses to look down the clevage, tis' his fault.

I show what I will if it looks nice and reasonable. I only show as much that a guy doesn't "need" to look.

Women with nice bodies are going to stand out regardless unless they are wearing clothing that resembles a potato sack or a Mark V deep diving suit. What about in some tropical hunter gatherer societies where the women go around completely topless? There doesn't seem to be problems with lust and the related maladies among men. I think that as a previous poster pointed out that modesty is often a cultural construct and what could be mosedt to one person or even culture is not modest to another. Standard women's dress slacks would be grossy immodest by 1'st century A.D. standards.

 

[Niels]

In my opinion, as long as it's not worn in a raunchy manner, she should feel free to wear whatever she wants to wear. Things like bikinis are perfectly acceptable clothing when worn as intended (swimwear is designed for the beach, not for the bedroom).


If you ask me, what matters most is how she acts... not whatever style she's into.

 

[peanutbutter12]

Another thing... why should it always be the person who is wearing this stuff at fault. Should people not be responcible for what they think? Are people just trying to place the blame of their own short comings on others? Remember that you are a minority in this world.

CJ

 

[ByLoveAndGrace]

HA, I can't wear any sort of bikini... mostly cuz i have a realllllly curvy body, but im way way overweight. HA

 

[~Beauty_from_Pain~]

In my opinion, as long as it's not worn in a raunchy manner, she should feel free to wear whatever she wants to wear. Things like bikinis are perfectly acceptable clothing when worn as intended (swimwear is designed for the beach, not for the bedroom).


If you ask me, what matters most is how she acts... not whatever style she's into.

To play the devil's advocate (which I do because I'm not sure completly where I stand on things): Yes, in our society bikinis are appropriate for the beach. The question though is if they are acceptable in God's eyes. What I mean is, we can't go by cultural norms to know what is right and what is not right. Does this make sense?

It is also culturally normal and acceptable for women to wear mini skirts and shirts that barely have a front and show cleavage with no bra. That is acceptable in our society, but I don't think that God would find that type of clothing to be modest and pleasing to Him.

We have to be careful to not think in terms of "What is acceptable in our society" as much as we need to think of, "What is acceptable to God."

 

[MN John]

How about "never wear less in public than your CF character?"

 

[juzzi]

Another thing... why should it always be the person who is wearing this stuff at fault. Should people not be responcible for what they think? Are people just trying to place the blame of their own short comings on others? Remember that you are a minority in this world.

CJ

Exactly - The fact of the matter is, if you have the problem with it, it's exactly that - YOUR PROBLEM.

Not wishing to be harsh, but come on people, get a grip!!!

There is no point in a girl dressing in loose fitting clothes that fit like a tent on her simply because she's worried about what other guys might be thinking. That's gonna eventually lead to her surpressing everything in her life, and is that what God made her for??? I'm not saying God made her to flaunt herself to others, btw, but you've got to realise how much this way of thinking can affect a woman.

If a guy can't control what he's thinking, then he's the one who needs to get down to some serious praying about why he's thinking those things and if God will help him to stop. If they're not Christian, what are you going to do? You cannot stop people thinking what they are going to think; again, it's their issue.

If an extremely attractive girl were wearing a Burkha, then some guy is bound to be wondering what's going on underneath... (I know you wouldn't be able to see much of her, but you get my drift..) It's called curiosity, and that's an innate human instinct, you can't get rid of it no matter how much you try and guard everything that could spark it off..

I'm not going to stop wearing something I feel comfortable in, if a guy can't control his thoughts, that's his problem to sort out. In saying this, I'm not declaring that all girls should walk about with their chests out, wearing micro-mini skirts and letting it all hang out all the time. Yes, we should be a good example, yes, we should represent God to others. But, we should not be covering up like certain other religions make their women do in order to stop people thinking bad stuff about us.

The reason why those cultures behave that way is due to their own insecurities - why should women be a target of that, what have they done to deserve that?

If a girl is comfortable in a bikini, and it's not basically made of doritoes with strings attached, go ahead - why are we getting caught up on an issue this small when there are much bigger things to be worrying about!??!

 

[YouthPastor]

When I was in Spain I went to a topless public pool. I've never seen guys less interested in women's breasts, to be honest. I think the amount of what we wear isn't the problem here so much as whether we're choosing to look at each other in sexual ways.

I grew up in co-ed dressing rooms. The naked body just doesn't have that much hold over me, and the near-naked body definitely doesn't. That doesn't mean that I'm not attracted to my boyfriend, but it does mean that I'm not going to be attracted to every scantily clad, well-built guy that passes by.

Sometimes I think modesty can backfire.

you are dealing with a completley different culture. WHile I do not agree with it.

You really can not compare the spanish culture and thier view of nudity and use that for America or any other country that is more conservative in the realm of nudity.

 

[YouthPastor]

My observation also. Inerestingly in countries I've lived where things were more sexually liberal there were no trace of pedophiles and sex related crimes were relatively low. Here in South Korea the skirts dont get much shorter although at the beach the girls never wear skimpy swimwear

You may want to do more checking...

in the netherlands the pedophiles just started a political party trying to lower the age of consent to 12 (from 16) and eventually want it done away with.

they want child porn legal.

sex related crimes - how can those rates be high - when alomoist everything is legal??????

sex related crimes are also VERY low in musilum countries.

I am not sure what countries you are refering to that are sexuallly liberal and do not have pedophiles.... all the danish countries that are liberal have them.

 

[YouthPastor]

Exactly - The fact of the matter is, if you have the problem with it, it's exactly that - YOUR PROBLEM.

Not wishing to be harsh, but come on people, get a grip!!!

There is no point in a girl dressing in loose fitting clothes that fit like a tent on her simply because she's worried about what other guys might be thinking. That's gonna eventually lead to her surpressing everything in her life, and is that what God made her for??? I'm not saying God made her to flaunt herself to others, btw, but you've got to realise how much this way of thinking can affect a woman.

If a guy can't control what he's thinking, then he's the one who needs to get down to some serious praying about why he's thinking those things and if God will help him to stop. If they're not Christian, what are you going to do? You cannot stop people thinking what they are going to think; again, it's their issue.

If an extremely attractive girl were wearing a Burkha, then some guy is bound to be wondering what's going on underneath... (I know you wouldn't be able to see much of her, but you get my drift..) It's called curiosity, and that's an innate human instinct, you can't get rid of it no matter how much you try and guard everything that could spark it off..

I'm not going to stop wearing something I feel comfortable in, if a guy can't control his thoughts, that's his problem to sort out. In saying this, I'm not declaring that all girls should walk about with their chests out, wearing micro-mini skirts and letting it all hang out all the time. Yes, we should be a good example, yes, we should represent God to others. But, we should not be covering up like certain other religions make their women do in order to stop people thinking bad stuff about us.

The reason why those cultures behave that way is due to their own insecurities - why should women be a target of that, what have they done to deserve that?

If a girl is comfortable in a bikini, and it's not basically made of doritoes with strings attached, go ahead - why are we getting caught up on an issue this small when there are much bigger things to be worrying about!??!

then push for full nudity in public!!!!!!!!

why do you think beer commercials or anything that they want young men to buy normally has a young, pretty and either tightly dressed or scantly dressd woman... because marketers KNOW that guys are visual..... Guys are turned on by sight!

guys are visual.

let me ask this.... what is the reason to dress scantly? to be fashionable? to be in? who sets those standards? How many of those designers are christian? NONE!!!!!!!!!!!! atleast none of the big names.

if we dress scantly because that is what is in or fashionable - then we are allowing the world to mold us.

why does a girl need to show cleavage? why do they need to dress skimpy? FASHION. again - whos makes those fashions? who sets those standards??????

THE WORLD.

Are we not to be different?

 

[YouthPastor]

Women with nice bodies are going to stand out regardless unless they are wearing clothing that resembles a potato sack or a Mark V deep diving suit. What about in some tropical hunter gatherer societies where the women go around completely topless? There doesn't seem to be problems with lust and the related maladies among men. I think that as a previous poster pointed out that modesty is often a cultural construct and what could be mosedt to one person or even culture is not modest to another. Standard women's dress slacks would be grossy immodest by 1'st century A.D. standards.

You can not use a tottaly different culture to justify actions in another culture.

women's dress slacks would not have been immodest - it would have just been wrong.....

 

[juzzi]

then push for full nudity in public!!!!!!!!

why do you think beer commercials or anything that they want young men to buy normally has a young, pretty and either tightly dressed or scantly dressd woman... because marketers KNOW that guys are visual..... Guys are turned on by sight!

guys are visual.

let me ask this.... what is the reason to dress scantly? to be fashionable? to be in? who sets those standards? How many of those designers are christian? NONE!!!!!!!!!!!! atleast none of the big names.

if we dress scantly because that is what is in or fashionable - then we are allowing the world to mold us.

why does a girl need to show cleavage? why do they need to dress skimpy? FASHION. again - whos makes those fashions? who sets those standards??????

THE WORLD.

Are we not to be different?

Excuse me, but I did not say that dressing in a bikini would not affect a guy. I am quite aware that men are visual creatures and that what women wear are going to turn *some* of them on.

Unfortunately, you can't always help that. My BF finds me attractive when I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt - does that mean I should stop wearing this just because of that?? What *should* I go around wearing? A full length caftan?????

I realise that commericials use women's bodies to promote products - where did I say I agreed with that??? I don't agree with women being exploited in order to sell something or to advertise something. It's not my fault if some girl strutting her stuff in next to nothing helps to sell beer - that's just the way the world is, we live a corrupt world. You want it to not be that way, then change it.

The reason to dress "Scantily" as you put it, may be to do with fashion, yes. I'm sure a huge portion of it is to do with fashion. For me, a large aspect in wearing a bikini is to do with comfort too. For the record, I don't wear tiny little bikini's that look like they only just cover my modesty, I wear bikini's that I feel comfortable in, that suit me, and that I don't feel like I'm objectified in. I wear them for comfort, because, to be quite honest, a full length swimsuit is far too uncomfortable on me.

I get extremely hot and find it hard to be relaxed in a one piece. Sorry if that offends you, but that's your problem, not mine.

And just for the record, how do you know that none of the fashion designers are Christians? Before God called me in another direction, I was actively persuing that career. I may have not designed similar revealing outfits, but I'm sure swimwear may have been on there somewhere.

If we dress "scantily" (and just FYI, I don't class wearing a bikini as dressing scantily), we aren't always letting the world mould us. It may just be for comfort, or maybe someone can't afford a one-piece, ever consider that?? Maybe a bikini's cheaper. You can't make sweeping generalisations about something like this, it's down to the individual.

If God is convicting a girl/woman about wearing a bikini, then don't wear one. Don't wear immodest bikini's, like we see Paris Hilton wearing, but don't be pushed into wearing something you're not comfortable with and is paralelled in very-much non-Christian cultures.

 

[Deliberatetourist]

You can not use a tottaly different culture to justify actions in another culture.

women's dress slacks would not have been immodest - it would have just been wrong.....

So..............?

 

[YouthPastor]

So..............?

so.....?

 

[cherryblossom]

I don't see anything wrong with bikinis. Wearing a bikini doesn't mean a woman is trying to tempt men or anything. It's just clothing. I think theres a bit of a double standard, a woman can be equally attracted to a man in swimming trunks, but nothing is said about that. Part of being Christian is not allowing the devil to get to you with evil temptations.

 

[YouthPastor]

so... women have NO responsibility in how they dress? It is all the guys responsibility?

 

[SoC]

Exactly - The fact of the matter is, if you have the problem with it, it's exactly that - YOUR PROBLEM.

Not wishing to be harsh, but come on people, get a grip!!!

There is no point in a girl dressing in loose fitting clothes that fit like a tent on her simply because she's worried about what other guys might be thinking. That's gonna eventually lead to her surpressing everything in her life, and is that what God made her for??? I'm not saying God made her to flaunt herself to others, btw, but you've got to realise how much this way of thinking can affect a woman.

If a guy can't control what he's thinking, then he's the one who needs to get down to some serious praying about why he's thinking those things and if God will help him to stop. If they're not Christian, what are you going to do? You cannot stop people thinking what they are going to think; again, it's their issue.

If an extremely attractive girl were wearing a Burkha, then some guy is bound to be wondering what's going on underneath... (I know you wouldn't be able to see much of her, but you get my drift..) It's called curiosity, and that's an innate human instinct, you can't get rid of it no matter how much you try and guard everything that could spark it off..

I'm not going to stop wearing something I feel comfortable in, if a guy can't control his thoughts, that's his problem to sort out. In saying this, I'm not declaring that all girls should walk about with their chests out, wearing micro-mini skirts and letting it all hang out all the time. Yes, we should be a good example, yes, we should represent God to others. But, we should not be covering up like certain other religions make their women do in order to stop people thinking bad stuff about us.

The reason why those cultures behave that way is due to their own insecurities - why should women be a target of that, what have they done to deserve that?

If a girl is comfortable in a bikini, and it's not basically made of doritoes with strings attached, go ahead - why are we getting caught up on an issue this small when there are much bigger things to be worrying about!??!

I agree... to a point.

Yes, it's the guy's problem if he lusts after the girl. Yes, it's his choice and his fault at that moment. I'm not denying that.

All I'm saying is that girls should be helping us guys. Not all of us are dogs that want to lust after girls. Some of us are trying not to lust. If we see a girl in a bikini, it's a lot easier to lust after her than a girl in a less revealing, more modest swimsuit.

God calls us to not be stumbling blocks for others. If a guy is having a problem with lust and a girl wears a bikini, knowing full well that this guy will see her, she has made herself a stumbling block to him. Most guys do have problems with lust, so girls with bikinis are most likely going to be stumbling blocks for those guys.

I am not saying girls should go around wearing sackloth bags to hide their figure so no guy will lust after them. I am not saying that bikinis are evil. I am saying that we guys need you girls' help to not lust after you. It is our problem if we do, but is it so wrong for us to ask for help? Is it so hard to wear something a little more modest?

As I asked before, which is more important? The kind of swimsuit you are wearing or not being a stumbling block for others?

No offense, but this part of your post made me laugh. If Christ were standing there, I would think he would be the least affected by what I was wearing.

In a temptation sort of way.

I wasn't talking about temptation. I was talking about modesty and respect. Would you wear something like that if Jesus were standing next to you?

 

[peanutbutter12]

so... women have NO responsibility in how they dress? It is all the guys responsibility?

I feel a big portion of it is the guys responcibility. For example, if you go to a beach, chances are that 90% of the girls will be in bikinis. And chances are that 90% (or more) of those girls are not believers. Now is it the responcibility of those girls to dress in more conservative clothing so that the 1 or 2 Christian males there don't have dirty thoughts about them? Hardly... and chances are they could give two cares less about what you think. So I guess you can't go to the beach, can you?

It's most certainly an issue between the male (or female) and God. If a guy is having lusting problems, then he should be trying to deal with it. I dunno, when I was younger in my teens, I may have glanced at a girl in a bikini in a lustful way, but as I've matured over the years, I've come to appriciate the beauty of a female body without having bad thoughts of them. So I most certainly think it's the person who is lusting who needs to change.

CJ

 

[eatenbylocusts]

Exactly - The fact of the matter is, if you have the problem with it, it's exactly that - YOUR PROBLEM.

If a girl is comfortable in a bikini, and it's not basically made of doritoes with strings attached, go ahead - why are we getting caught up on an issue this small when there are much bigger things to be worrying about!??!

Because lust can become a major problem even in a Christian's life and it can touch every area of his life and interfere with his walk! I'll say it again-it's not just about bikinis. There are modest bikinis. The clothing that we as Christian women choose should not be those that can reasonably be expected to cause a stumbling block for men/boys. Yes, boys. Do you want to be the image that a boy takes home in his mind to use when he's masturbating? I'm learning some shocking things right now while trying to learn to parent my teen.

We are the body of Christ! A problem within the church affects all of us! We should be helping, not hindering our brothers and sisters. Of course men need to take responsibility, but we shouldn't be purposefully making it more difficult. The fact that non-Christian women are wearing the Doritos on the beach does not absolve a Christian woman of her responsibility.