Are Bikinis O.K.?

Carolyn Moynihan

by Carolyn Moynihan on August 17, 2012 · 21 comments

Jason Evert, co-author of “How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul,” answers the question, “Is it immodest to wear a bikini?” before an audience of high school girls.

Carolyn Moynihan

By Carolyn Moynihan

Carolyn Moynihan is deputy editor of MercatorNet.

Tagged as: fashion, male and female, modesty

  • Pargon

    And we’ve been making jokes about which “brain” guys were thinking with for years! Now it’s scientifically proven! ;D LOL

  • Jesse Ray

    I told my daughters if they ever wear a bikini, I will show up wearing one too. (that ought to put things in perspecive real fast).

  • vitto

    oh, dude, if you can’t handle the bikini, you better not come for a vacation to Europe, cause you’ll have to chose between beaches that are nude and the other half that are top-free… You might want to chose Arab countries then, yet you don’t wanna leave your daughter or wife unattended there, because the possibility of them getting raped is 50 times higher there than in Europe and 10 times higher than in the US. After all, everyone knows, the more you make women cover their bodies, the more aggressive and dangerous males become. And it works the other way around. The more insecure, aggressive and chauvinistic you are – the more you want women’s bodies covered. And no, bikinis are made of completely different materials and are much less revealing than underwear. i guess it has been a long time this lecturer saw modern women’s underwear.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Frederick/1213050120 Tom Frederick

    “After all, everyone knows, the more you make women cover their bodies, the more aggressive and dangerous males become.” Based on??? Your opinion today?
    “And it works the other way around. The more insecure, aggressive and chauvinistic you are – the more you want women’s bodies covered.”
    Yea, right, only real men can look at girls in bikinis…Sounds like a guy who wants to see immodestly dressed women and is looking for a way to justify such behavior–or the argument of a 15 year old.

  • MM

    My oldest is 14 and we belong the neighborhood pool in the summer. In the 12 years we have belonged there I don’t remember ever seeing a teen or woman in her twenties wearing a one piece or even a tankini (same coverage as a one-piece). They ALL wear bikinis. Even all the girls that go to Catholic school wear bikinis. Even fairly conservative Catholic families let their daughters wear bikinis. When I was a teen and in my twenties I never wore a bikini and neither did my friends. What has changed and why do parents now think this is okay?

  • hillbilly

    That is an awesome reply!!

  • John Paul

    Total bogus. Complete total bogus

  • MarylandBill

    I see my wife in her underwear all the time. With a few exceptions, it is actually quite a bit more modest than the most extreme bikinis (granted, this might not be true if the underwear got wet, but lets not worry about that).

  • http://theraineyview.wordpress.com/ Serena

    I made my swimsuit to resemble a WWI-Era bathing costume, but made of modern gymwear pieces. It’s comfortable, dignified and fun.

  • Micha Elyi

    Based on extrapolating his own personal experience? Vitto, after a good confession*, turn yourself in to the police!
    *Remember to include your calumny against all men and boys in your confession, Vitto.

  • Micha Elyi

    I agree.
    Furthermore, I notice that Jason Evert’s “researcher” only studied men and then drew stereotypically sexist and misandrist conclusions which Mr. Evert proceeded to run away with in order to bash men further.
    Ever notice that women’s interest magazines prominently feature women on their covers? Scantily clad women – typically in some state of semi-undress, sometimes even in bikinis. So, why was Mr. Evert’s researcher so reluctant to do the same experiments on women – could it be that corresponding portions of their brains would react similarly? That would ruin the “all men are pigs” narrative the researcher and Mr. Ewert are promoting. Hmmm.
    Perversely, the late Helen Gurley Brown* and prudes agree on at least one thing: sex must be characterized as ‘dirty stuff’ that men (and only men) want. This false narrative leads naturally to females failing to accept responsibility for their own sexual behaviors and misbehaviors.
    *Don’t believe me? Take at her magazine, Cosmopolitan. One needn’t eyeball all the filth in it, just examine the teasers on the covers!

  • billy g

    What in the world does what you did in your teens have to do with this?

  • anna lisa

    About six months ago, I watched Jason Evert and his wife Christalina on EWTN. She is a beautiful young woman. I wondered what on earth would make her wear something a grandmother would wear? While I loved what both of them had to say about choosing a future spouse, both of them need to consider how and where people are converted. Dressing 30 years older than you are is a subtle temptation that sends a not so subtle message. There are *plenty* of men that can sit on a beach, and won’t sin against chastity when 95% of the women and children in bathing suits are wearing bikinis. That’s how it is where I live. Perhaps men need to discern the difference between admiration and lust. I truly believe a man can learn to praise God for beauty, rather than deform it in his mind. This article discussed the other problem our culture has with bodily appetites. Is the solution to sprinkle ashes on our food everyday? I believe true chastity is a conversion of heart. If this process is not complete, than men should practice “custody of the eyes”.

  • bp

    it has everything to do with this. The nature of man (male or female) doesn’t change the action and drama changes. The only thing that changes is the way man perverts it . She is a parent who is looking for the best wholesome way to raise her child not a sarcastic rhetorical comment

  • TheRamblingAmateur

    I’m not very familiar with them, but when I google searched, I didn’t notice anything “grandmothery” about her clothes. She looked like she was modestly dressed, but still fashionable. I agree that men need to practice custody of the eyes, but the study showed first reactions. This means it took greater effort on the part of the man to see beyond the outfit. Is it really necessary to expose so much? Not to mention the fact that clothing is the best sunscreen.

  • anna lisa

    It does require more effort for a human being not to behave like a mammal. It is possible to wear a simple bikini modestly. Men and women can *choose* to say “no” to their less than noble impulses. Here in California the clock simply will not be turned back, Should it be? And to what era? Remember that the bathing suits your own loved ones wear today would be cause for scandal last century The word “leg” was avoided in the Victorian era, even when referring to tables and pianos! Why? Because it was rarely seen, and highly sexual. What is needed is *respect* Respect for others as human beings, made in the image of God. The solution for the objectification of women is no more about covering women unnecessarily, than the problem with overeating should be to cover the flavor with ashes. Think: “inner discipline”, and “divine filiation”, which is what separates us from the animals.

  • taad

    As one saint said, you can do battle with certain temptations, but with temptations to sins of the sexual nature, you must physically run from them. And it is said that mortification of the eyes is greatly needed these days. This mortification, could require you not to go to places where people dress immodestly. The question is the problem. If one considers that one can dress modestly in a state of undress, then that person is greatly decieved.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Frederick/1213050120 Tom Frederick

    “about covering women unnecessarily” really? How about “covering women (and men) modestly”. Don’t you dare try to put all the responsibility on one gender for this. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden. “The snake made me do it…” “The woman made me do it…” We BOTH play a role. One’s role is to dress modestly…the other is to guard their thoughts. By the way, this is not a gender specific topic as you try to imply. Last week I walked by our school pool and a young woman said, “He Suzie, come here. You’ll like what you see…” When I passed by I noticed they were ogling the boys water polo team.

    “The solution for the objectification of women is no more about covering women unnecessarily, than the problem with overeating should be to cover the flavor with ashes.” Actually, you have the analogy wrong. It would be “the solution to overeating is to starve to death…” which falls on its face in absurdity. No, the solution to overeating is PRUDENCE applied to that appetite. Don’t serve too much, don’t eat too much. You forgot to mention the “inner discipline” of dressing modestly and the “divine filiation” that instructs our hearts not to walk around scantily clad, leading others to the near occasion of sin, or causing scandal. How about we remember “fallen nature” and “concupiscence” and work together as a team instead of looking down from an ivory tower and blaming the “other guy”?

  • anna lisa

    “Don’t you dare?” Don’t I dare…what? I don’t objectify people. That’s all there is to it. This is what *my* conscience instructs me to do. I can’t control the thoughts and actions of others. It’s easy to try to prove your point by putting words in my mouth. “Scantily clad” means different things in different places. Perhaps the women in your own household would be stoned for immodesty in Afghanistan. In my personal opinion a woman can expose her calf, her shoulder, and yes, even her stomach on the beach. Olympic Beach Volleyball doesn’t give me a reason to go to confession. If it does for you, I’m sorry, I hope you can work that out, and simply see women (or men) as daughters and sons of God, instead of objects for sexual use.

  • Proteios

    Ummm, no. There is science that indicates that scantily clad and other objectified images of women causes the same part of the brain to enhance signaling as when images of tools (hammer, nails, exec.) are shown. I realize that science cannot compete with fabricated opinions like the silliness you spouted, but its a start at understanding the reason modern day feminism seems to play right into the hands of hormonally charged men with questionable values. hey baby…Objectify yourself, shut down your biology and empower yourself by screwing me.

  • Richard III

    I think 1 piece swimsuits or tankinis are in better taste than bikinis, but the style of the bikini in question can make a difference too, i.e. medium to high waisted, wide strapped, cleavage covering vs. skimpy low-cut string straps. One things for sure though, the less suit fabric you have, the more sunscreen you’ll need. Ladies who hate greasy hands etc, choose wisely.