Is going to the beach/pools a sin?

[MelanieM]

Since women should be dressing modestly, wouldn't it be a sin to go to the beach or swimming pools wearing bikini's and sometimes, wearing nothing at all?

[Stephen Spiteri]

One can go to the beach and dress modestly; there are modestly designed bathing suits available on the market (e.g. http://modestswimsuitsandswimwear.com/). Similar to the nightclubbing issue it's a matter of prudence, but no: going to the beach or a pool is not implicitly evil or a sin.

[Matthew]

Modesty - always one of those controversial topics.

Firstly, modesty does to an extent depend on context. What is modest in the office and modest at the beach are not the same.

Having said that, I that a good sense of modesty would dictate that bikini's are not modest. Any guy would know this I think and if he doesn't he just needs to listen to his secular friends and what they would say about such a girl at the beach. Trust me, heard it all. I read a study that was once done where pictures of girls dressed like this were shown to guys. What part of their brain tended to get activated? The part that deals with "tools." It was especially associated with action verbs such as "I grab" "I take."

One can easily buy better swim wear for the beach. The bikini fashion I have no doubt was one of those ones Our Lady had in mind when she said to Blessed Jacinta "fashions will be introduced which will greatly displease my son."