A Closer Look at the Male Mind and a Bikini

[Timothy]

Do you believe the average man is aroused by a good looking woman in a bikini?

Some Christians say the bikini is okay, others say it is a stumbling block and immodest for a Christian lady. Some men say a woman wearing a bikini flashing her figure doesn't create any internal desires or excitement, others say it causes any man to stumble.

I fall on the stumbling block side of the tracks and find it impossible to accept that a man can honestly say a beautiful woman in a bikini doesn't even trigger something. I know I am responsible for my thought life, but then again, the liberty some women take in their dress can be an issue.

Dr. J Vernon McGee would often say no man can honestly say he hasn't committed adultery in his heart. I tend to believe him and his observation.

Do you?

 

[samspade]

I would say that, no matter what a woman is wearing (or not wearing), the man has total liberty to not look. If the man sins, it's never anyone's fault but his.

 

[Timothy]

if you do not like what i am not wearing    do not look

but please    do not try to control me    by your eye gate issues

So you believe most men don't take a second look at a woman in a bikini?

The ones that do have personal issues? Not yours to be concerned with?

 

[Castor Muscular]

Do you believe the average man is aroused by a good looking woman in a bikini?

I am more likely to be aroused by a beautiful face than a great body.  I've seen women with what most men would probably say is a "great body" and a so-so face, and wasn't aroused at all.  So a bikini, by itself, means pretty much nothing to me.  Now, combine a beautiful face with long black hair and a great body, and I'm likely to go, "WOW, SHE IS GORGEOUS!!"  And she could be fully dressed and I'd still think the same thing.  I might even be more likely to think it if she's fully dressed -- it depends on the outfit. 

Dr. J Vernon McGee would often say no man can honestly say he hasn't committed adultery in his heart. I tend to believe him and his observation.

Do you?

Here's the problem:  You commit adultery in your heart when you lust after a woman.  What do you consider lust?  When I go, "WOW SHE IS GORGEOUS" am I lusting after her, or am I simply awed by beauty and sex appeal?  Maybe it's just because I'm an old fart with moderately low-T, but I'd say it's the latter.  No matter how awesome a woman may look, I don't find myself WANTING her.  I don't want her even if I could have her with no negative consequences to my life.  I only WANT my wife.  Even when we're not getting along, I only WANT my wife. 

Now, when I was younger, especially pre-Christian, I lusted.  I lusted a lot.  So when I struggled with it as a Christian, I deliberately stopped myself from looking when I could.  I don't want to tempt the devil and say I'm now immune -- but I honestly don't struggle with it now. 

 

[Timothy]

I would say that, no matter what a woman is wearing (or not wearing), the man has total liberty to not look. If the man sins, it's never anyone's fault but his.

I agree with you ... but, for the life of me I can't understand why a Christian woman would wear a bikini knowing the chances are fairly high that a man will lust after her body. I am around men at my job and at social settings - I am not the only one turned on by a woman in a bikini. The body is designed to please man - woman was made for man.

 

[rsc2a]

I would say that, no matter what a woman is wearing (or not wearing), the man has total liberty to not look. If the man sins, it's never anyone's fault but his.

I agree with you ... but, for the life of me I can't understand why a Christian woman would wear a bikini knowing the chances are fairly high that a man will lust after her body. I am around men at my job and at social settings - I am not the only one turned on by a woman in a bikini. The body is designed to please man - woman was made for man.

Yay! Another vote for burkas.

Timothy - Do you wear loose pants and long sleeve shirts when you are out and about? The male body was designed to please woman...

 

[rsc2a]

if you do not like what i am not wearing    do not look

but please    do not try to control me    by your eye gate issues

So you believe most men don't take a second look at a woman in a bikini?

The ones that do have personal issues? Not yours to be concerned with?

Second looks are ok. Third looks are even ok. There is nothing wrong when you limit it to looking.

 

[Castor Muscular]

I would say that, no matter what a woman is wearing (or not wearing), the man has total liberty to not look. If the man sins, it's never anyone's fault but his.

I agree with you ... but, for the life of me I can't understand why a Christian woman would wear a bikini knowing the chances are fairly high that a man will lust after her body. I am around men at my job and at social settings - I am not the only one turned on by a woman in a bikini. The body is designed to please man - woman was made for man.

Yay! Another vote for burkas.

Timothy - Do you wear loose pants and long sleeve shirts when you are out and about? The male body was designed to please woman...

Cmon, men are more visual.  There are always exceptions, but far more men love to look than women. 

Also I think there was a recent study that showed men think about sex nearly every waking moment when they're not preoccupied with some task.  Women actually experience periods of time when they don't think about sex, and they don't have to be preoccupied with a task to think of other things. 

 

[samspade]

I would say that, no matter what a woman is wearing (or not wearing), the man has total liberty to not look. If the man sins, it's never anyone's fault but his.

I agree with you ... but, for the life of me I can't understand why a Christian woman would wear a bikini knowing the chances are fairly high that a man will lust after her body. I am around men at my job and at social settings - I am not the only one turned on by a woman in a bikini. The body is designed to please man - woman was made for man.

I can't understand why other people do a lot of things. Then again, I have enough trouble dealing with myself and why I sometimes do the things I do. And that's where I put my energy. If I'm having problems with lust, my solution isn't to try and modify some woman's behavior. It's to seek a change in my heart through the power of Christ in my life.

 

[rsc2a]

[quote author=Castor Muscular]Cmon, men are more visual.  There are always exceptions, but far more men love to look than women. 

Also I think there was a recent study that showed men think about sex nearly every waking moment when they're not preoccupied with some task.  Women actually experience periods of time when they don't think about sex, and they don't have to be preoccupied with a task to think of other things. [/quote]

Please tell me you are being facetious.

 

[Timothy]

I would say that, no matter what a woman is wearing (or not wearing), the man has total liberty to not look. If the man sins, it's never anyone's fault but his.

I agree with you ... but, for the life of me I can't understand why a Christian woman would wear a bikini knowing the chances are fairly high that a man will lust after her body. I am around men at my job and at social settings - I am not the only one turned on by a woman in a bikini. The body is designed to please man - woman was made for man.

Yay! Another vote for burkas.

Timothy - Do you wear loose pants and long sleeve shirts when you are out and about? The male body was designed to please woman...

I don't show off my stuff for women to desire.

 

[Timothy]

if you do not like what i am not wearing    do not look

but please    do not try to control me    by your eye gate issues

So you believe most men don't take a second look at a woman in a bikini?

The ones that do have personal issues? Not yours to be concerned with?

i see it as    freedom of speech    in the expressed way i choose to cover or uncover myself

stop attempting to violate my rights

I suppose you have a valid point.

 

[Castor Muscular]

[quote author=Castor Muscular]Cmon, men are more visual.  There are always exceptions, but far more men love to look than women. 

Also I think there was a recent study that showed men think about sex nearly every waking moment when they're not preoccupied with some task.  Women actually experience periods of time when they don't think about sex, and they don't have to be preoccupied with a task to think of other things.

Please tell me you are being facetious.
[/quote]

Only a little.  Here's a study that shows men are more visually stimulated than women:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040316072953.htm

This study is supposed to debunk the idea that men think of sex more often, but the results actually say men think of sex roughly TWICE as often as women (19 times daily vs. 10 times daily).  So I don't get the spin in the article. 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/osu-sds112811.php

Here's a study that says women think about fashion MUCH more than men think about sex:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2155893/British-women-think-fashion-91-times-day-total-30-days-year-thats-men-think-sex.html

Frankly, I don't put much stock in these studies, but they're fun. 

 

[rsc2a]

[quote author=rsc2a]Timothy - Do you wear loose pants and long sleeve shirts when you are out and about? The male body was designed to please woman...

I don't show off my stuff for women to desire.[/quote]

It may be that women aren't wearing bikinis to show off their stuff for men to desire either...

 

[brianb]

It all depends on the bikini. Designers don`t just design swimsuits without a purpose and it doesn`t matter if it is a two-piece bikini or a one-piece. Some are for swimming or sport and others are just for show or are sexy just as lingerie is considered sexier than regular underwear.  Most if not all guys will get excited when they see the sexy showy suits on women especially the attractive women - they are usually the ones wearing them. Bikinis are just more popular but there are a lot of men who like some one-piece suits - either way men don`t really care whether it is a sexy one-piece or a sexy bikini that`s why shows like Baywatch were popular and boys in the 1970s put up posters of models wearing one-piece suits. A bikini may just be considered more attractive because they look more ready for certain activities because a bikini is easier to take off than a one-piece. There`s a reason most women don`t wear them any more. They are just not convenient. And most men stopped wearing them something like several decades (almost a hundred years ago). If most men don`t wear them why should women have to. The only alternative to a bikini would be shorts but don`t expect most women to wear that on a beach when they are trying to get a tan.

Btw, I`m not against what that article is saying about bikinis and male minds but they are not telling the whole story. It`s not saying that some one-pieces don`t or can`t have the same effect. Most guys just want to see nice butts or boobs. No guy ever says - check out the innie on that chick or check out the abs on her like those things are no different than the body parts which make them more distinguished from men. Men have navels and some have 6-pack abs just like women do. The only difference between a man and a woman`s abs would be the size. Of course removing body hair makes a difference especially with women but men do that as well - it`s more hygienic and  you don`t sweat as much in hot weather - it also makes you look better with your shirt off.

 

[rsc2a]

[quote author=Castor Muscular]Cmon, men are more visual.  There are always exceptions, but far more men love to look than women. 

Also I think there was a recent study that showed men think about sex nearly every waking moment when they're not preoccupied with some task.  Women actually experience periods of time when they don't think about sex, and they don't have to be preoccupied with a task to think of other things.

Please tell me you are being facetious.

Only a little.  Here's a study that shows men are more visually stimulated than women:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040316072953.htm

This study is supposed to debunk the idea that men think of sex more often, but the results actually say men think of sex roughly TWICE as often as women (19 times daily vs. 10 times daily).  So I don't get the spin in the article. 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/osu-sds112811.php

Here's a study that says women think about fashion MUCH more than men think about sex:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2155893/British-women-think-fashion-91-times-day-total-30-days-year-thats-men-think-sex.html

Frankly, I don't put much stock in these studies, but they're fun. [/quote]

I would agree that men are generally more visually aroused than women, but that is only a generality and not a hard rule. If Timothy wants to go after the gals for wearing bikinis, then by the same standard, he needs to go after the men for not covering up as well.

I would also think that a lot of these statistics are primarily culturally-driven. But, I do agree...they are fun.

 

[Biker]

Do you believe the average man is aroused by a good looking woman in a bikini?

Some Christians say the bikini is okay, others say it is a stumbling block and immodest for a Christian lady. Some men say a woman wearing a bikini flashing her figure doesn't create any internal desires or excitement, others say it causes any man to stumble.

I fall on the stumbling block side of the tracks and find it impossible to accept that a man can honestly say a beautiful woman in a bikini doesn't even trigger something. I know I am responsible for my thought life, but then again, the liberty some women take in their dress can be an issue.

Dr. J Vernon McGee would often say no man can honestly say he hasn't committed adultery in his heart. I tend to believe him and his observation.

Do you?

to your first question, I don't believe most men automatically become sexually aroused at a woman just because she wears a bikini.  I used to be a lighty but slowly either grew out of it with age and/or the Holy Spirit dwels in me protecting me.
I've always needed communication along with it though. But everyone is unique and that's a good thing.

When seeing something beautiful God created, we derive pleasurable feelings from it. This is Gods gift.  I get aroused to some degree seeing my twin sister in a bathing suit because she is beautiful to me, but it's not sexual. Beautiful people are all around us, and that's fine, enjoy the pleasurable feelings they bring... though it's good to be aware when it's the opposite sex knowing how easily it can morph into something it shouldn't

 

[Biker]

Brian you are right about the bathing suit. We used to belong to a Nazarene Church which developed a policy for people to only wear one pieces to swimming events, Camp etc..Of course no one listened as you can't tell people how to dress. So it was lost in the shuffle pretty fast

 

[Izdaari]

I don't flatter myself that men are lusting after my body when I wear a bikini on the beach. I think I look ok in one just by being very fit, but I am after all 58 years old and a muscular beanpole, hardly the stereotypical lust object.

 

[rsc2a]

[quote author=Izdaari]...58 years old and a muscular beanpole...[/quote]

That's hot...