Should Christians Wear Modest Clothing at the Beach?

[Lamb]

Do you think Christians should wear more modest clothing when going to the beach?

 

[Josiah]

Attire is CULTURAL and situational.

What is appropriate at the beach in Malibu in 2021 would not be on the beach in New Jersey in 1821. And the other way around. What would be appropriate for an American woman to wear while walking the dog in Arizona would not be for an Muslim woman to wear while walking the pooch in Saudi Arabia. What might be regarded as 'inappropriate" to wear at Prince Philip's funeral in England might be perfectly okay at a pub down the street.

What is and is not appropriate... what is or is not regarded as "immodest" or "sexual" in one century or country or situation might be perfectly okay in another.


It might be helpful to ask: Is this typical, usual in this setting? Am I wearing this specifically to be sexual? I think the issue is: IS THIS OFFENSIVE in the culture and setting?



I'll give you a personal example... for about year (when I was 13-14) I was on a swim team. I joined for the fun and exercise and because I love swimming and all water sports, and quit because the team was too serious and frankly more work than I wanted. Anyway, we met at a public pool (a very nice, olympic size pool) along with some other teams (including the girl's team). Anyway, the require costume was those Speedo racers, back then they were, well, not abundant in fabric (they're better now). You know what I'm talking about. And I got to admit that for about 6 seconds, I was self-conscience of this... there were girls and moms around.... until I realized NOBODY CARED, this was just what every guy swim team in the world wore. It was typical (indeed, universal) and (theoretically) appropriate. (The theory was this created the least drag, a silly point in our case because no one on our team was so fast that this mattered, but I digress). Now... would I wear that to a pool birthday party? Absolutely not, I would wear nice board shorts. Would I wear (just) board shorts to church? Absolutely not, I would at least wear very nice walking shorts and a nice shirt (then! Today, it's nice dress pants and shirt with a tie). It's cultural.... it's situational. What is fine in one setting, isn't in another.


My half cent.


- Josiah



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[Josiah]

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WARNING: This may be disturbing to some readers.... reader discretion advised.


Not so much now, but when I was young, I hung out at the beach a lot - often every day until school and life just made that impossible. And I saw a LOT of people at the beach.....

Now.... keep in mind what I wrote in post #2. Yes, this is highly cultural. What was appropriate on the beach of Malibu in 1921 is different than is the case in 2021.


BUT.... as a guy..... just saying with no intention of offense.... not infrequently, the wonderful females among us would be well advised to wear more, not less. Now, no offense, but it's HARD to pull of an itzy-bitzy bikini.... um, just is. Now some girls can do it (God love 'em) but it requires a perfect body and well, perfect ain't all that common. I've probably seen MORE cases where I thought "nope" than I did "beautiful." I'm NOT saying it's the fault of the GIRL, it's a bad fashion choice. I know all can suffer from a bad body image - thinking we are less attractive than we are.... but I wonder if it can work the other way, too? My advise: Have a TRUSTED and WISE friend and ask "Serious, do I look good in this?"

Now, just to be an equal opportunity offender, I have ALSO seen guys..... strutting around the beach (not a drop of water on them, this ain't about swimming) with big beer tummys and hairy chests.... and thought, "Bud, put a shirt on!"


Now, I think it's generally okay to want to look good.... for our attire to help our appearance (and not hurt).... and I admit, there is a VERY fine (and fuzzy) line between that and being ... well.... even sinful. But my point HERE is simply to evaluate how certain attire looks ON ME, and not just if it's common.... consider that it may look awesome on that size 0 twenty year old but may not ... well.... you get it.



Sorry.


- Josiah




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[tango]

Do you think Christians should wear more modest clothing when going to the beach?

I suppose the obvious answer is yes but the related question is what counts as "modest".

Josiah already touched on what's considered appropriate and a lot depends on the setting. In the US it seems attitudes towards nudity are far more conservative than in much of Europe (which is ironic, given the way the porn industry seems to be so large in the US). I remember some years ago in a park in Amsterdam seeing a couple of young women lie down in the sun and take their tops off as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Nobody seemed to pay much attention to them. I can only imagine the response if that happened somewhere like Central Park.

 

[Forgiven1]

I draw the line at the string bikinis. As Josiah says, it depends on the person wearing the bathing suit or clothes. Around here, lots of people wear tank tops and shorts. The college girls tend to wear less. Many families go to the beach together and I think that is where the modesty comes in. At least the beach where I go to. The other one here may be different.

 

[RichWh1]

Christians should always dress modesty


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