Ignorance
of the nature of the sexual connection is often the cause of
exaggerated alarm. In Jersey, I used to hear of a bride who ran
to the window and screamed 'murder,' on the wedding-night."
(Private communication.)
At the present day it is not regarded as incompatible with
modesty to exhibit the lower part of the thigh when in swimming
costume, but it is immodest to exhibit the upper part of the
thigh. In swimming competitions, a minimum of clothing must be
combined with the demands of modesty. In England, the regulations
of the Swimming Clubs affiliated to the Amateur Swimming
Association, require that the male swimmer's costume shall extend
not less than eight inches from the bifurcation downward, and
that the female swimmer's costume shall extend to within not more
than three inches from the knee. (A prolonged discussion, we are
told, arose as to whether the costume should come to one, two, or
three inches from the knee, and the proposal of the youngest lady
swimmer present, that the costume ought to be very scanty, met
with little approval.) The modesty of women is thus seen to be
greater than that of men by, roughly speaking, about two inches.
The same difference may be seen in the sleeves; the male sleeve
must extend for two inches, the female sleeve four inches, down
the arm. (Daily Papers, September 26, 1898.
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