Modesty, Bikinis, and Sports

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Mary67

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I know there have been many threads about modesty, but I have a question that I don’t think has been answered.

At the Olympics, women beach volleyball players can be seen wearing sporty bikinis. They will argue that it serves to enhance their performance on the volleyball field, while (I’m guessing) many traditional Catholics will say that it is scandalous regardless of the purpose because of its degradation of the women players.

But, if it is bad even for women in sports to opt for a bikini, then should catholic women avoid those sports if religious accommodations cannot be made (beacuse its a team uniform)?

I would never wear a bikini for lust reasons, but if I had to wear one for a sport I may do so (if it covers my chest and buttocks) since the primary purpose is functionality rather than sexuality. Thoughts?
 
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I don’t really watch volleyball, so, if it is for reasons of “functionality” and such, I am assuming the men’s team wears the same thing? Or maybe minus the top, “because they can?”

😏 No, that is not why the women’s team is wearing them.
 
Have you played beach volleyball competitively? How do you know? Are you assuming they are wearing them for sexually motivated purposed? Im honestly curious.
 
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I don’t doubt that there are more modest options, but if the team has a uniform where does that leave a Catholic?
And serena is a tennis player, so thats a different conversation entirely.
 
Never played volleyball.

But I was a beach lifeguard for years. I wore a red two piece lifeguard suit. It had a sports bra-like top and briefs for bottoms.

It was a comfort factor for me. To this day…I prefer two piece suits over one. We’d do weekly drills at the beach that included running, swimming, first aid, and practice rescues. It was easier to run in a two piece and less sand got stuck in your suit. Practically speaking…it made more sense to wear a two piece.
I imagine volleyball players run into the same issues.

I don’t feel immodest when I wear a two piece bathing suit. In fact, I feel most comfortable.
 
I know what you mean about the sand getting stuck in your suit. This past summer I went to the beach. I wore a one piece, but after making sand castles with my husband, I felt so uncomfortable and went to the ladies room only to find about 8oz of sand stuck between the mesh at the bottom of the suit. It was very uncomfortable. Pretty sure it could have counted as a Friday penance.

I wonder if two piece suits differ in their technical construction. Do you know? Do they have the mesh at the bottom on the inside?
 
Women should be offended at the things they are expected to wear.
 
Yeah, they do.

I worked as a YMCA pool guard too. We couldn’t wear full two piece suits but were allowed to wear tankinis.

I was in and out of the pool all day teaching swim lessons and water aerobics and guarding.

The chlorine would wreck havic on our suits…to the point wear some of us were layering suits because they would become sheer. We didn’t make that much money and you needed to stretch what you had for a longer period of time. There is chlorine treatment for suits but it only works for so long.

Full piece suits don’t always have an inner liner like the two piece suits do. They were easier to clean and didn’t break down as easily as the one piece suits did.

Plus…sand is awful. What I could easily brush away between events on my mid section…would require a trip to the bathroom with a one piece.
I didn’t have that luxury and I would guess volleyball players have less time for bathroom breaks.
 
I would prefer coverage on my upper half, thanks.

Board shorts, without a shirt, doesn’t translate very well for women.

T shirts worn would get damp and sandy. I don’t remember too many men covering up with a t shirt.
 
I actually was asking if men wore bikini type bottoms.

Sports bra type tops for women make way more sense than bikini tops.
 
I know that in the Olympics the outfits for many countries are meant to boost tv ratings. And it’s sad that would be the case but it is. It doesn’t matter what men where when the obvious point is to satisfy a lustful society.
 
yeah…you wear what’s comfortable.

Actually, I take it back. The standard uniform for men’s beach volleyball is a tank and board shorts.

So, yeah…they are more covered up then the women.

I would want the added suppprt if I was running around and jumping up and down a lot. But, I don’t see anything wrong with a t shirt or tank.

I definitely wore my t shirt and tanks when I was beach guarding but that was more of an attempt to prevent sun damage than be modest.
 
When it’s cool during the Summer Olympics, they wear more. Some teams from some countries wear more no matter what. It’s in no way a requirement to wear a bikini.

I can’t remember which Olympics, but Saudi Arabia had a woman compete in a track event and she had a modified headcovering that had been approved by whatever bodies make decisions about those things.
 
Irishmom2 said:
So again I ask: is the men’s team wearing the same thing?
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This is a good point. And, this is something to pay attention to. I think there is a double standard here. But, even on the beach men usually do not have shirts on and there isn’t much modesty talk about this. If a man is wearing short trunks and no shirt, he is basically more undressed than some women in more modest bikinis.

One thing I don’t think men understand is that they are not the only ones being tempted. Women have temptations too when they see shirtless men on the beach, especially if he is very fit. Its how God made us. So, I think that the beach modesty topic generally focuses on women too much. It is a message both men and women equally need to hear.
 
From some of the interviews I’ve read the women have no choice in the selection of sports wear and many are very uncomfortable with what they are given. I really admired the middle eastern team that wore full body coverage at the last summer olympics. Standards need not be compromised in order to compete.
 
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thanks you for your complete explaination!

I think it is sad that US women wants to wear bikinis when men do otherwise, or there are others accepted alternatives.
 
Honestly I don’t think that a bikini or any other sort of deliberately ‘brief’ swimwear could ever be considered modest. If they are the only option then the only choice is not to participate.
 
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