
Promiscuous Bathing: Victorian Outrage Over Indecency at the Public Beach - Avawelles
https://mimimatthews.com/2017/05/22/promiscuous-bathing-at-margate-victorian-outrage-over-indecency-at-the-public-beach/
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codezero
Also interesting, mentioned in this article but not fully explained are
Bathing Machines.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathing_machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathing_machine)

Essentially a carriage that sat in the water that you changed clothes in,
sometime is to a provider outfit.

You climb in on one side on the beach and out the other into the water.

Amazing that social etiquette was so strong nobody asked "hey why don't we go
right into the water?"

~~~
whoisstan
some very interesting photos from way back then:
[http://www.whizzpast.com/photos-19th-century-bathing-
machine...](http://www.whizzpast.com/photos-19th-century-bathing-machines/)

~~~
irrational
Hang on, this definitely needs a NSFW warning. Some ankles were clearly
visible.

~~~
rabboRubble
Dang you... I spit up on my screen a bit~

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dade_
Oh, our silly sensibilities. Go to a nude beach this summer and bare all. Just
remember sunscreen!

Only a small percentage of people look anything like the magazines, and even
then only with makeup and Photoshop. Fear of nudity, your own and others just
isn't healthy.

~~~
dmihal
I got to attend a "naked party" back in college.

Sure, you spend the first 30 seconds gawking, but you quickly get over it and
realize being naked isn't inherently sexual

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
>The bathers of both sexes romp, laugh, and perform all kinds of antics in
which the actual nudity of the men is infinitely less offensive to our sense
of decency than the modest immodesty of the clinging gossamer vestment in
which the females cover, without hiding, their forms.

Wow, what a double standard. A woman wearing wet clothes is considered more
scandalous, than a totally naked man?!

~~~
coldtea
> _Wow, what a double standard. A woman wearing wet clothes is considered more
> scandalous, than a totally naked man?!_

Well, males are very "interested" in the female form.

Females in the male form, not so much beyond a certain point (for the same
reason males enjoy lesbian porn, but women don't particularly care for gay
male porn).

A few exceptions aside, most males just aren't that interesting to look at.

~~~
wnoise
> but women don't particularly care for gay male porn

You are _so_ very wrong about that. Though it is true that women generally
prefer written porn to visual.

~~~
coldtea
Well, not that wrong, though there's this media idea of some women admitting
they are watching gay porn etc, which they blow as on the rise or even
prevalent. Still, according to PornHub:

    
    
      Moving on to search terms. Women seem to have a lot of love 
      for ‘lesbian’ porn. The term dominated women’s top 
      searches. From ‘lesbian scissoring’ to ‘lesbian seduces 
      straight’ even to ‘lesbian threesome’ there was a definite 
      request for anything female on female among our female 
      viewers. And while the ladies’ preference was ‘Lesbian’ by 
      a long shot.
    

They also provide preferred search terms and preferred categories for men and
women, and gay related stuff is not in the top 10.

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mcphage
> There was only one problem—many Victorian ladies and gentlemen actually
> _wanted_ to swim in company with each other.

The horror! :-)

~~~
Avawelles
Even the Victorian police said it was impossible to keep them apart.

~~~
mcphage
HAVE THEY NO SHAME?!

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coldtea
Well, can't really fault Victorians when in 2004, 100+ years after them, a
little tit from Janet Jackson was made such a big deal...

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime-
sh...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime-
show_controversy)

~~~
probablybanned
We especially can't fault Victorians while our technology keeps the horrors of
venereal disease at bay.

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JabavuAdams
The pent up sexuality! No wonder they conquered the world. Maybe we just need
to get modern militants laid. I mean in the non-rape-and-pillage way.

Basic income, legalized marijuana, promiscuity, addictive video games. Tools
for fools. Don't break anything.

