Are Swimsuits Immodest?

So I was reading an article (that I cannot for the life of me find again) on some teen Christian girl website that popped up in my feed about "10 appropriate swimsuits for summer!" Every single one was some form of swim-dress, and the article ended with a sentence reminding girls that God wants us to be modest for summer, and that showing more than above your chest and below your thigh was immodest. 

Now, we could get into a whole modesty debate here, but that's already been done on the SS (unless someone wants to make a new topic), so I'm just curious: is swimwear immodest? After all, most women's swimwear is meant to accentuate some certain parts of the body. Some girls go so far to avoid this that they make their own, ala Fresh Modesty (a popular modesty blog a lot of girls i used to know follow). Here's an example of what some girls at my old church considered modest for the beach: http://freshmodesty.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-2013-swimsuit.html

My personal opinion, as it tends to be, is as long as you don't judge others for wearing what they're comfortable with, do what you want. I used to be so uncomfortable with my body that i swam in full clothing :p Thankfully over the past year, I've found a swimsuit I love and feel way more comfortable in, and it happens to be a bikini. Only downside to it so far is that I forget to reapply sunscreen and burn everywhere  

Anyways, opinions?

Edit: I realized I talked exclusively about girls swimsuits when most active people on here seem to be guys. Oops. Offer those opinions as well; is swimming without a swimshirt immodest?

I don't think swimming without a swim shirt is immodest. I've done that my entire life and never thought about it

is swimming without a swimshirt immodest?

Maybe change the word "immodest" to "revealing." For women, yes, it is revealing. Now whether or not it's /wrong/ or always inappropriate is a different topic. And maybe it's the most delightful thing in the world to wear little clothes in public, but yes, it's reveals a woman's curves, skin and most of her body. If we are talking about a bikini here.

And as to guys, I'd have the same standard. It is revealing because there's just no clothes where there normally should be.

Simple Definition of immodest


: having or showing a high or too high opinion of yourself or your worth
of clothing : showing a lot of your body in a way that is considered improper

Full Definition of immodest

: not modest; specifically :  not conforming to the sexual mores of a particular time or place

If you go by the definition of immodest what does that bring to the discussion?

Countess wrote:but yes, it's reveals a woman's curves, skin and most of her body. If we are talking about a bikini here.

I don't think that a person should wear any swim cloths that are revealing in a sexual way. I don't think that a guy not wearing a shirt would fall under that category. A bikini is a whole different story in my opinion.

I think the attitude of your dress can matter too. If you are wearing something (or not wearing something) simply because you are prideful of how in shape you are or how pretty you look, that would be prideful and immodest. I know, as a guy, wearing a shirt can be uncomfortable while swimming, but if you are picky what ladies wear, I don't really see how it's "fair" not too.

Farmer wrote:
I don't think that a person should wear any swim cloths that are revealing in a sexual way. I don't think that a guy not wearing a shirt would fall under that category. A bikini is a whole different story in my opinion.

What does this even mean, though? "sexual way?" Sexual for who? So a guy not wearing a shirt may not be sexual to you, but it might be for me. And what about dudes who have fetishes for feet or shoulders who lust after women just by seeing those parts of their bodies? 

Perhaps my biggest complain with modesty culture, second to the double standard and simultaneous sexualization and shaming of women's bodies, is how ridiculously arbitrary it is. What is modest or sexual to one person isn't to another. So ultimately, it all comes down to what you as an individual feels is right. Which is how it should be: wear what is comfortable for you and keep your nose out of other people's business because it's an arbitrary standard that has no objective basis.

Ok. I see where you're coming from, but I wasn't talking about the guys that have weird foot fetishes or the girls that think any guys chest is sexy. I was thinking about the girls that wear bikinis to show off their bodys. Most bikinis are quite revealing. Also I would think that any skin tight swim pants (the old speedo style) for guys would be the same.

I'm not going to condemn anyone for wearing that type of swim clothing but would feel uncomfortable for myself or my family to wear that.

If you are wearing something (or not wearing something) simply because you are prideful of how in shape you are or how pretty you look, that would be prideful and immodest.

I promised myself I wouldn't get mixed up in this again. But I guess I knew I wouldn't resist forever.

So, you feel good about yourself, you wear something that shows your body because your confident in it and want people to see it and be attracted to it. I fail to see why that would be a problem. Now if you are actively hoping to sexually entice someone then that's a whole nother thing... But is that getting into debate territory? Are we avoiding debate or is this modesty as specifically related to swimwear with debate allowed?

If you feel good about yourself and body and want people to be attracted by it, why wear clothes at all?