"Saluting the Bikini"

No, the suggestion made in the title is not this writer's idea\—\—but rather the Sunday columnist, Joy Dickinson, whose material is published on the back page of the Comics section. The subject matter under discussion was printed on July 24, 2016, under the title of "Let's Tip Our Bathing Caps to Salute the Bikini at 70," referring to the fact that the first bikini was worn 70 years earlier in July of 1946 at a popular Paris (where else?) swimming pool.

This woman usually writes about things of interest to Floridians and often includes history as part of the background. One of the things currently of interest to those living in Florida, as well as the millions who visit each year, are the "663 miles of beach" on its peninsula. Accompanying the article is a 1912 real-photo postcard of eleven people posing in the ocean at Daytona Beach.

Dickinson is not writing this piece from a religious perspective; in fact, she seems to have no problem with bikinis whatsoever; hence, her title. She presents the facts from a historical perspective. She calls what people wore in 1912 "bathing costumes," which she describes as "yards of fabric, always in dark colors so it wouldn't appear transparent when wet." She mentions that in this era (about the same time as the fictional Downton Abbey began), the concept of a bikini "was as unimaginable as rocket ships blasting into space…." Rocket ships represent progress in technology and development; one might well wonder what the invention of the bikini represents.

The History

The historical data provided in this column includes noting that "bathing costumes" became popular around the 1850s "when the development of railroads made seaside resorts more accessible to vacationers." It was about the same time that amusement parks dotted parts of the east coast. People now had access to them. However, swimming attire in 1912 was far different from what it is today. Although not promoting modesty, Dickinson does comment on it. Below are some relevant statements:

The accepted attire, though, was still cumbersome and much more for bathing than real, athletic swimming. The first woman to swim across the English Channel, Australian athlete Annette Kellerman, was arrested in Boston in 1907 for wearing a one-piece suit….

Modesty, not comfort or practicality, was key and remained an issue for both men's and women's beach costumes well into the 1920s. As late as 1936 men who only wore trunks and not a tank top, too, were banned from beaches in Atlantic City, NJ.

Since she brought up the subject of modesty, it is appropriate to ask a few questions regarding it.

Why was it immodest in 1907, 1912, and 1936 for men to wear trunks only and appear bare-chested? Similarly, why was it wrong for women to wear a one-piece suit in public?

Why are these changes considered acceptable now if they were once immodest?

3. Is society the standard for acceptable fashion?

4. Does God have standards for acceptable clothing?

It should be obvious that even someone who has no objection to modern swimwear, such as Joy Dickinson, perceives that what was in vogue in 1912 was more modest than what is worn today. And most people would agree that a one-piece suit is more modest than a bikini, and that a bikini is more modest than nothing. So, where can we find a standard for modesty? Is it just what society thinks at any one period in time? Do we just dismiss the whole issue by saying, "This is just the way it is in the 21st century"?

Have there been other times when briefer clothing was acceptable? That might make an interesting study if someone were able to study it through all of history. The writer of the column under examination stated that some "fourth century artwork suggests that some women athletes wore a scanty two-piece sports costume…." But that's nothing (practically nothing) compared to the Greeks in the Olympics. According to an article by John Green ("What Did the First Ancient Olympians Wear in the Games?"), the following occurred:

An ancient inscription records that the first athlete to compete nude in the Olympics was a runner named Orsippos, who won the short sprint in the 15th Olympics held in 720 B.C. Orsippos began the race wearing the traditional athletic garment\—a perizoma, a type of loincloth held up by a band of fabric that went around the athlete's waist. The story goes that it fell off Orsippos while he was running, and after his victory it was decreed that athletes should henceforth compete naked.

According to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, athletes from Sparta were the first to exercise naked. The practice eventually became the norm in Greek athletics, distinguishing Greeks from the uncivilized "barbaroi," or barbarians, of surrounding regions, who thought nudity was shameful.

Now there's an example of Isaiah 5:20.

Who Sets Standards?

God did not give society the right to invent standards of modesty based on sports and swimming. For example, Paul did not write that "the women adorn themselves in modest apparel\—unless they are in a beach volleyball tournament" (1 Tim. 2:9). He did not enjoin propriety and discretion\—except for going to the beach. Jesus and the apostles were constantly around the Sea of Galilee during the first part of Jesus' ministry. How many times do the Scriptures record them swimming in a shallow area with one foot of material around their waists? Yes, times have changed, but would anyone expect to see Mary and Martha hanging out at the public pool wearing only bikinis? Or even one-piece suits? Anyone who can is lacking in Biblical understanding and discernment.

Nudity was an acceptable fashion for Adam and Eve since they were created in a state of innocence. Only after sin entered the world was it necessary to be covered. The covering that mankind chose was skimpy, covering only the waist area. It was not appropriate for Eve or Adam to be naked from the waist up. Neither was it discreet for either of them to be naked from their posteriors through the thigh region to their knees. God made them garments to cover from the shoulders to their knees (Gen. 3:21). Such dress does not call attention to the parts of the body that are private. God never at any time for any reason gave exceptions for this kind of attire to be seen in public just because modest clothing might be considered "cumbersome."

The Emperor's New Clothes

Everyone knows the story where the royal garment-maker convinced the emperor that he had made him a fabulous outfit. Everybody pretended to see the invisible clothing until a child uttered the truth\—that the emperor was naked. Today, most people know that beach garb is immodest, but few will say anything. The article under review describes immodesty but finds no fault with it. Likewise two comic strips make a sharp point, but they just may be referring to the irony rather than lodging a complaint. One was reviewed in Spiritual Perspectives a while back: it involved teenager Chip from Hi and Lois not recognizing a girl because they had previously met at the beach; he did not know her with her clothes on.

Hank Ketcham did one for Dennis the Menace, also (7-10-15). Dennis' mom and dad are sitting under an umbrella on a blanket. She is wearing a one-piece suit and sunglasses, while reading a book. He is wearing only trunks and a pair of regular glasses. Dennis has been making a sand castle and is holding a bucket of sand in one hand. In the other, he is pointing to a woman with blonde hair running through some shallow water. She has a nice smile, is waving one hand in the air, and is wearing a black bikini. Dennis says: "That's my schoolteacher! And she gets mad if my shirttail is hangin' out!" What she has exposed is much more immodest than a shirttail.

Nakedness, in the Bible, is generally associated with shame, but these days it is not particularly so regarded. Gowns are designed to show as much flesh as possible. Women seem to go along with it, and men (who are visually stimulated) will probably not complain if females want to show off their bodies. As long as everyone is playing by the same set of rules, then the practice seems okay, but it is not because there is only One Who gets to define what is modest and what is not.

God never endorsed the idea of man\—or woman\—doing what was right in his or her own eyes, which was the philosophy used in the dark ages of the Judges (21:25). According to man, drinking is acceptable (Pr. 23:31), gambling is okay (Luke 12:15), divorce and marrying again for any cause is all right (Matt. 19:3-9), homosexuality must be permitted (1 Cor. 6:9-11), and there certainly could not be anything wrong with fornication (Heb. 13:4). These are just a sampling of the things worldly people accept. God approves and authorizes none of them. Somehow swimwear went from modest to revealing in less than 100 years, and the world did not object but rather heartily embraces it.

The Purpose

According to Joy Dickinson, the bikini was invented by an engineer, Louis Reard, "who was managing his mother's Paris lingerie shop…." He billed it as "the smallest bathing suit in the world." After its introduction in 1946, it took only fourteen years for Bryan Hyland to have a number one song in the United States (August 8, 1960) and in New Zealand with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini." Society's tastes changed rapidly. Perhaps not uncoincidentally, Playboy began being published in 1953.

The purpose for the bikini was the same as the magazine\—to promote the lust of the flesh (1 John 2:15-17), which has long been one of Satan's most successful tools. Which issue of Sports Illustrated is the most popular? That's right\—February's. And why is that? Is it a special Super Bowl issue? No, it's the swimsuit edition. Apparently, a lot of men have a keen sense of anticipating what the very latest design in swimwear will be. Surely, it cannot be a best seller because of the women who model the threads. The swimsuit edition actually began in 1964; Wikipedia credits it with "making the bikini."

The facts would not be complete without explaining the rest of the story. How did the new style of bathing costume come to get its name? Louis Reard, who designed it also named it. The United States had recently conducted a nuclear test off the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. He selected that name and tried to get a model to wear it, but none would. He finally paid a nude dancer to wear it at a public pool. But why choose a place near where a nuclear test was done? Hmm. His thinking was that "the shock waves from the suit would be even greater than a nuclear blast." He was right. And we will probably have bikinis with us right up until the Day of Judgment.

Those who do not know what they are saying shouldn't be: