?Bikinis in the supermarket

It was in a public shop though or Nonu wouldn't have been in there.

Vegas A carrot and a couple of plums of course!

granjura It may be that here, in the UK, where we have a very diverse population who feel it is perfectly acceptable to wear clothes to demonstrate their religion or the traditions of their homeland, holidaymakers have the mistaken idea that the compliment will be returned? We have not banned the bhurka, yet.

Tourist areas in places where people (women anyway) traditionally dress more modestly than in the modern West depend on tourism for much of their GDP. It would be foolish of them to object to the people who sustain their economies.

Is one a prude if one chooses to dress in less revealing clothes for the sake of elegance or one's own comfort? I think one is only a prude if one objects to other people's choices (rather than just disliking them quietly ).

Bags - the kind and friendly people we met in south India wouldn't object as they are too polite for that. Not everyone is motivated simply by money! But they were plainly embarrassed by those visitors who simply ignored their customs.

If wearing a bikini, tiny top with hanging belly, etc, shows off the traditions of Great Britain Noodles, well... what can I say?!?

I have a better opinion of 'my' beloved England, actually.

The people of Cyprus, Ibiza and other parts of Spain or Eastern towns of Budapest or Talin, will not 'object' to the drunken antics of many Brits, as you say, their need the money they bring. But that won't stop them from forming an opinion about Brits behind closed doors - and sadly it won't be good (:. I used to instill in all our students when going on trips abroad and exchanges, that they were ambassadors for the UK, and that any act of kindness or politeness, or t'other way round, could shape the opinion the recipients would have of the UK. They understood that, even though some came from very modest and sometimes difficult homes.

Oh dear granjura

I can't see that wearing a bikini (whatever your body shape) is any worse than dressing head to toe in black, covering your face and expecting to be treated with respect. Brits in bikini's is your prejudice, not mine.

Oh dear, as you say... Nothing wrong with Brits in bikinis... in the right place. But not in shops and town in traditional areas.

The comparison with wearing a burka is just a bit daft, sorry. Sorry too that you can't see that. A shame.

Would you think it suitable to wear a tiny bikini when going to the shops in Devon or Norfolk? I wouldn't, and would think it disrespectful too.

vegas, but plenty of people here who are originally from other cultures ignore a good many of our customs. Or perhaps they simply stick to their own?

I'm not advocating going shopping in beachwear. I don't particularly want to see women (or men!) in bikinis in a supermarket. I don't even like the scanty costumes female volleyball players wore for Olympic games. But I presume that's just me being a bit stuffy. I really don't think people do it to be disrespectful of my feelings. I think they do it because they are hot.

Bags I think there is a difference between wanting to live in a country and just visiting. This much I found out in Kerala - their rate of literacy is higher than ours, and it is a rich part of India, fuelled by remittance money from highly qualified professionals who go to work in the Middle East and the USA. Both men and women dress modestly and appreciate visitors who do. We did not stay in hotels but in private homes and were treated as family members. We simply showed good manners by adopting their dress code.

As, I hope, would any polite person in a private home that was offering them hospitality. It's the same politeness that means you eat what food is put in front of you in someone else's home whether it's what you would eat at your own home or not.

At least, that's what I was taught, and I think those are good guidelines.

Supermarkets are pretty global and not private though.

I still wouldn't want to see people in bikinis in supermarkets. I just can't think of a good reason why! Natural prude, me (except in private).

* bags* - I hope I'm wrong and you're right when you say people shop in bikinis because they're hot, not that they intend to be disrespectful, but it's my gut feeling that people behave like this because they don't give a stuff for other people's sensibilities. This might explain in the OP the angry reaction of the couple who were gently challenged.

When I worked in M&S we had a regular customer who used to come in in his vest. He was middle aged, rather overweight and covered with lots of white hair. In spite of the way we all used to disappear when he arrived he was under the impression that he was one of our favourites and used to lean his sweaty self over the counter while he told long and unfunny jokes.

That's true, vegas. I hadn't really considered the angry responses.

I still wonder why we mind near nakedness so much though.

If he had had an attractive young not sweaty body, would you all have minded, deedaa?

I actually don't mind nakedness as such. What I am saying is that one should respect those who do somehow. Because it's the polite and civiised thing to do.

Good point Bags would we be more likely to accept a young, good looking,fit man wearing a vest leaning over the counter than the old, hairy, sweaty one? Also is a young woman with a good figure more acceptable than a older overweight woman with rolls of fat hanging over the bikini?

Personally I wouldn't go shopping in a bikini( even if I did have a fab figure) any more than I would go visit someone in hospital, attend a dentist appointment or whatever. It just seems disrespectful.

I'm finding the word 'disrespectful' doesn't quite sit with me in this context. I think I would say that wearing a bikini for going shopping is just not appropriate. Sorry for the wordsmithery but I don't feel disrespected if people wear inappropriate clothes; I just feel surprise that they can dress inappropriately.

I think some of the clothes one sees TV presenters wearing are a bit inappropriate – women often look far too dressed up for my taste, while the men tend to be... let's just say less excessive. I don't think it helps reduce the objectifying of women when they dress up to look glamorous when simply smart would do.

So yes, I think there's a scale of inappropriateness in dressing from excessive under-dressing (e.g. bikinis in supermarkets) to excessive over-dressing in the visual media.

I think wearing your beachwear to go shopping is totally different to people in their traditional dress - unless of course bikinis et all are now traditional dress.

There does seem to be a tendency in the West for women to show an awful lot of skin nowadays.

Mind you, traditional Indian saris expose midriff (sensible in that climate). They are more discreet about chests and upper arms though, not to mention legs, and infinitely more elegant than short and strappy vest. Less practical sometimes perhaps.

shorts

Do people who think bikinis in supermarkets disrespectful think shorts and strappy vests are disrespectful too? Or is that acceptable/appropriate summer supernmarket or street wear?

I personally would feel vulnerable if I wore a bikini in a supermarket.
It wouldn't take much for some idiot/pervert to yank the top off, and there are enough idiots around these days.