Celebrating Swimwear

Prudery often drives people to shun not only things that are sexual in nature, regardless of whether they truly are or are not immoral, but also nonsexual, sensual things that happen to remind them of sexuality.  Because they are so paranoid about sexuality, they might mistake many nonsexual behaviors or the human body itself, as well as the clothing that can be worn over it, for sexual things, and since they are desperately trying to flee from a part of human nature that no amount of prudery will change, it is fairly easy for them to be reminded about sexuality by almost everything they see or think about!  Fearing, hating, or unsettled by sexuality even as they might be fiercely obsessed with thinking about it, and not just in the sense of philosophically analyzing it, people in the grip of prudery imagine sexuality itself to be an enemy and anything that makes them subjectively think about sexuality--which is almost everything--as an enemy as well.

While it is sheer stupidity that is at the heart of ideological prudery, irrationality and desperation alike could motivate people to more and more aggressively cling to a discomfort with sexuality shaped by philosophical errors.  This can be seen in how legalistic Christians act as if they are scared not only of sexual sins, of which there are far fewer according to Christianity than evangelicals think, but also of sexuality itself, leading to them conflating the two.  Since the human body will be seen by many people on a regular basis, sexual legalists frequently are reminded of sexuality thanks to their confusion of thinking that if they perceive the human body to be sexual, it must actually be sexual.  Perception and the truth beyond the perception are distinct, however, for even if perception aligns with the reality beyond it, it is still only a subjective, happenstance experience and not the thing being perceived.

With summer arriving, there will almost certainly be more exposure of more bodies than any other time of the year, and thus arrives a season that would make sexual legalists all the more desperate.  Swimwear is likely the clothing most misunderstood by legalists who mistakenly believe that sensuality is sexuality and that sexuality itself is sinful, though it is not particularly difficult for Christians to discover that Biblical philosophy is supportive of all sexual thoughts and acts that are not contrary to God's nature.  Only a rather limited range of behaviors and intentions/thoughts are condemned, such as adultery (Deuteronomy 22:22), rape (Deuteronomy 22:25-27), and homosexual acts (Leviticus 18:22), with a few additional acts being sinful.  Sexually coveting someone else's spouse (Matthew 5:28), the desire to commit a sinful sexual act, and the irrational reductionism of sexual objectification are the only sexual sins on a mental level.  Beyond this, there is freedom to experience, enjoy, discuss, and savor sexuality, and that includes wearing or appreciating sensual swimwear--though no clothing is sexual, only perceptions of or intentions behind wearing the clothing.

Whether it is worn with sexual or nonsexual intentions or admired with sexual or nonsexual intentions, swimwear is one of the few types of clothing where the male and female bodies are, for the most part, supposed to be displayed publicly.  Celebrating swimwear and the bodies it showcases, enjoying it sexually or nonsexually alike, is an easy way to celebrate something far more than just immediate personal pleasure, though even this can be a very deep thing.  It can be an expression of peace with sexuality and recognition of the difference between aesthetic beauty, subjective sexiness, and objective sexual acts.  Christians who celebrate swimwear have more to enjoy than secular people, in fact, for on the Christian worldview, there is actual significance to the body and sensuality and sexuality, as opposed to just the arbitrary, subjective interest of individuals in them.  It is a travesty that so few Christians are not sexual legalists, choosing to deprive themselves of understanding reality as it is while also finding it pleasurable.