5 ms·

Promiscuous Bathing: Victorian Outrage Over Indecency at the Public Beach

73 points by Avawelles 9y ago

codezero 9y ago
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 9y ago
  some very interesting photos from way back then: http://www.whizzpast.com/photos-19th-century-bathing-machines/ http://www.whizzpast.com/photos-19th-century-bathing-machine...
  - irrational 9y ago
    Hang on, this definitely needs a NSFW warning. Some ankles were clearly visible.
    - rabboRubble 9y ago
      Dang you... I spit up on my screen a bit~
- chippy 9y ago
  Interesting that early on people didn't wear bathing costumes and bathed naked. A Bathing Machine seems to be a good idea in that case, where you can enter and leave the water in full nakedness. It seems that a hundred years later, people were also wearing costumes, and as this was right when the lower classes were flocking to the sea for their vacations, going into the sea straight from the beach, I imagine, and when the machines became stationary and then turned into beach huts (still reasonably common on many UK beaches)
- ghostDancer 9y ago
  In the city where i live , there were carriages that took you (the wealthy) to the water and back but if you were the Queen obviously you had your own personal mobile palace, powered with a steam motor: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_San_Sebasti%C3%A1n#/media/File:Donostia_-_San_Sebastian_1908_1.jpg https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_San_Sebasti%C3%A1n...
  - codezero 9y ago
    That's amazing. I'm surprised these don't exist as AirBnB rentals now :P
RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y ago
>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?!
- MrZongle2 9y ago
  In many parts of the world, a fully-clothed woman who is exposing her face (let alone hair) is considered scandalous. Still a double standard, but unfortunately not limited to the Victorian era.
- coldtea 9y ago
  >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 9y ago
    > 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 9y ago
      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.
mcphage 9y ago
> There was only one problem—many Victorian ladies and gentlemen actually wanted to swim in company with each other. The horror! :-)
- Avawelles 9y ago
  Even the Victorian police said it was impossible to keep them apart.
  - mcphage 9y ago
    HAVE THEY NO SHAME?!
coldtea 9y ago
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-show_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime-sh...
- probablybanned 9y ago
  We especially can't fault Victorians while our technology keeps the horrors of venereal disease at bay.
dade_ 9y ago
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 9y ago
  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
JabavuAdams 9y ago
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.

73 points by Avawelles 9y ago

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 9y ago
some very interesting photos from way back then: http://www.whizzpast.com/photos-19th-century-bathing-machines/ http://www.whizzpast.com/photos-19th-century-bathing-machine...
- irrational 9y ago
  Hang on, this definitely needs a NSFW warning. Some ankles were clearly visible.
  - rabboRubble 9y ago
    Dang you... I spit up on my screen a bit~
chippy 9y ago
Interesting that early on people didn't wear bathing costumes and bathed naked. A Bathing Machine seems to be a good idea in that case, where you can enter and leave the water in full nakedness. It seems that a hundred years later, people were also wearing costumes, and as this was right when the lower classes were flocking to the sea for their vacations, going into the sea straight from the beach, I imagine, and when the machines became stationary and then turned into beach huts (still reasonably common on many UK beaches)
ghostDancer 9y ago
In the city where i live , there were carriages that took you (the wealthy) to the water and back but if you were the Queen obviously you had your own personal mobile palace, powered with a steam motor: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_San_Sebasti%C3%A1n#/media/File:Donostia_-_San_Sebastian_1908_1.jpg https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_San_Sebasti%C3%A1n...
- codezero 9y ago
  That's amazing. I'm surprised these don't exist as AirBnB rentals now :P

RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y ago

>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?!

MrZongle2 9y ago
In many parts of the world, a fully-clothed woman who is exposing her face (let alone hair) is considered scandalous. Still a double standard, but unfortunately not limited to the Victorian era.
coldtea 9y ago
>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 9y ago
  > 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 9y ago
    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.

mcphage 9y ago

> There was only one problem—many Victorian ladies and gentlemen actually wanted to swim in company with each other. The horror! :-)

Avawelles 9y ago
Even the Victorian police said it was impossible to keep them apart.
- mcphage 9y ago
  HAVE THEY NO SHAME?!

coldtea 9y ago

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-show_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime-sh...

probablybanned 9y ago
We especially can't fault Victorians while our technology keeps the horrors of venereal disease at bay.

dade_ 9y ago

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 9y ago
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

JabavuAdams 9y ago

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.