Difference between bras and bikini tops?

[ILovetheSunshine1234]

Genuine question here and it's in relation to a Dailymail article (yes I know):

mol.im/a/9417311

There is a picture among tons of images of women on the beach with bikinis and among these pictures is a picture of 2 women on Barry Island wearing shorts and a bra.

A lot of the commenters on Dailymail are saying how the women look like 'typical Barry island girls', 'why are they wearing their underwear and not a bikini?' "Walking around in bras - classy"

AIBU to think that these ladies are getting a hard time over the bra picture? I mean, I wouldn't personally walk around in my bra but I wouldn't resort to calling these ladies 'scummy', 'not classy' 'typical Barry girls'.
There are tons of images of women in bikinis so I really don't see the difference apart from they're wearing bras... but bikinis look like bras?

Also men can walk around topless? I don't see commenters being disgusted by that.

[AuntieStella]

I disagree with OP, because if you were given a pile of garments, you'd be able to sort them into bra or bikini very easily.

And agree with the posters who say it's like men going out in their pants, not their swimming trunks.

(nor which bits of the body are acceptable naked in public, but the difference between underwear and a swimming garment)

[ShadierThanaPalmTree]

Whether male or female I would notice and silently judge anyone in their underwear. There's no real difference of course between boxers/trunks bra/bikini, but there's enough of a difference that we would all notice if someone was wearing one rather than the other.

[DdraigGoch]

[quote ILovetheSunshine1234]@Stoppissingonmyheather you hardly see comments about those "topless men are typical", "that topless man's mother must be ashamed", "god, that man without a top on is so unclassy"[/quote]
I can't speak for the Daily Mail comments section but if a man is going around with no top on (other than at a beach), a lot of people will be muttering "ugh, put it away", "for God's sake, put a shirt on" etc. Also noting how quickly he is turning a shade of lobster in the sun.

[Mummadeze]

Looking through those photos they do look tacky. Would any of you really strip down to your bra in public? I would feel so embarrassed!

[DdraigGoch]

@Aprilx

OP I find it quite difficult to believe that you cannot tell the difference between a bra and a bikini top. I can tell the difference just as easily as I can tell when a man is wearing underwear versus swimming trunks.

I was sailing on Bristol docks one year when a couple of students stripped down to their white boxers and went for a swim. We saw far more than we wanted to see when they got out.

[ILovetheSunshine1234]

@Beseigedbykillersquirrels you seem hung up on this 'topless' debate when this is a bra vs bikini top debate. I'm not saying women should walk around topless nor that these women wanted to be topless.
This debate is about bra vs bikini top.
Please can you refer to the part in my OP in which I said all women should walk around topless?

I was simply saying that in the photos there were plenty of topless men, yet the DM commenters seem to have a great time belittling these women for wearing a bra on a hot day near the beach.

Imagine being these two women and seeing your face in a popular newspaper with commenters putting you down.

[ILovetheSunshine1234]

@AuntieStella I agree about the underwear part, i'm not saying we should all start wearing bra's instead of bikinis. I wouldn't personally wear a bra on the beach either.
But in a range of photos with men shirtless in some of them, these 2 women were picked out and belittled for wearing bras on a beach.
These girls are just going about their day yet because they've covered their boobs in a different fabric to a bikini top, they're belittled and ridiculed

[skirk64]

I know you've said this thread isn't about toplessness but people are airing a common misconception.

In England and Wales at least, women are entitled to walk around topless. There is no law that prohibits full nudity in public for anyone of any age or sex. It only becomes an offence if the person doing it intends to cause harassment or alarm (eg flasher waving his cock in your face).

[Arbadacarba]

YANBU - I agree, the bras those women are wearing are far less skimpy than many bikinis, not that it should really matter if they weren't - it's up to the individual how much flesh they are happy to have on show.

I've been sea-swimming in bra and knickers before (unexpectedly hot day at the seaside and didn't want to waste it through lack of bathing costume as it's a 2 hour drive to the sea from where I am). However, I'm middle-aged and invisible .

[LolaSmiles]

I was simply saying that in the photos there were plenty of topless men, yet the DM commenters seem to have a great time belittling these women for wearing a bra on a hot day near the beach
There's two issues here.
Firstly, the issue of bra vs bikini. Bikinis are swimwear/ beach wear. Bras are underwear. As a result it's not surprising that people comment on someone wandering around in their underwear. Men being topless at the beach is standard male swimwear and as people have said, if a man was wandering around in his underwear instead of swimwear, that would also be noticed. Your "but men were topless" doesn't work because shorts and no top is standard beachwear for men, so nobody bats an eyelid.

The second issue is the belittling of women in the press. That's a systemic issue where women's bodies are seemingly open to public scrutiny at any time. For some of the comments there will be a misogynistic undertone because society says it is acceptable to pick apart women's bodies.

You might keep saying it's just different fabric, but people know the difference between underwear and swimwear, whether you think it's fair or not.

[SirVixofVixHall]

Agree it is ridiculous, the bras in that pic could be bikini tops anyway, it is hard to tell. They are moulded and much less flimsy than most of the bikini tops worn in other pictures , not that it matters.
As an aside- I had a friend who would get on the bus to Camden from Highgate wearing just a skirt or shorts, as a protest against men being allowed to go topless but not women.

[Beseigedbykillersquirrels]

"...European countries in which women happily lay on the beach topless; For some reason, many people in this country expect a woman to cover them up."

Yes, I can point out the comment you made about toplessness, as quoted above.

You're acting like you don't understand why people find it more unusual to see someone going around in their underwear rather than a man going topless, which is a very common sight. Again, if you saw a man in his boxer shorts rather than shorts I'm sure you'd notice it too. Because it's not usual, at least where I live, to see people walking around in their underwear. Whereas, unfortunately, many men walk around without a shirt at the first whiff of spring. Whether these particular girls' bras are more 'decent' than bikinis is neither here nor there. They are underwear.

[RumpoleoftheBaileys]

Bigger issue from that article - the photo of the two Miss England finalists jumping.

Is it me or has it been photoshopped to put them that high?

Also Brighton sunbather is wearing what appears to be her knickers.

[goose1964]

Slightly at a tangent but when did typical Barry girl become a thing, in my day it was Valley girls in white stilettos 😃

[Catlover77]

They look ridiculous. Why would any sane, non-attention seeking woman walk around wearing a bra on a beach? A bra is very different than a bikini top