Is going to the beach a sin?

Recently, I heard a homily in which the priest said that going to the beach was a near occasion of sin. First, let's be careful. He didn't say it is a sin. He said it's a near occasion. Ok. That seems reasonable, doesn't it? Going to the beach involves seeing people VERY scantily clad. Still, I don't like the idea that Catholics can't enjoy the beach during summer. So, I've been looking for other answers to this question on the internet.  Someone called Jim answered this question very well on the Catholic Answers Forum.

It depends.

Seeing and being attracted to a beautiful person of the opposite sex in a bathing suit is not necessarily a sin.

It’s a sin when you begin to lust for that person and lust means desiring to have sex with them for your own pleasure and dwelling on the possibility of having that opportunity, which you would take if you had the chance.

Lust is an extension of the ego onto the other person. It disregards the person and objectifies them for the purpose of erotic sex.

Being attracted to the opposite sex is not lust.

So, if you can’t go to the beach without giving into lust, then don’t go, but seek help to find away to control yourself.

Jim

I like Jim's distinction between "being attracted" and "giving into lust." Still, I think it begs the question of what giving into lust means. Does it mean looking back at someone multiple times? Does it mean having a fantasy? Does it mean full-out masturbating? I think we all know that even a fantasy can enter one's head almost involuntarily.

Just as a thought experiment, let's compare going to the beach and going to a strip club. Okay, so the obvious difference is that in a strip club the people are fully naked. They don't even have a small piece of clothing to cover up those areas we generally consider private for everyone except for your significant other or the person you happen to be sleeping with or someone of the same sex or someone who claims to be of the same sex--this is getting ridiculous!

Anyways, people go to the beach presumably to enjoy the beach. People go to strip clubs presumably to enjoy being turned on by naked bodies. People wear bathing suits presumably because they want to swim and get a tan. But here's where it gets complicated; I do think at least for some women wearing a bathing suit is to show off a little bit. It's not to turn someone on, I don't think women in bikinis really want guys going into heat. Now you might say, well, men get to go shirtless, why shouldn't women get to go nearly shirtless without feeling like they are showing off. It's a good point, but it also doesn't acknowledge the reality that EVERYONE knows a woman without a shirt is viewed very differently by men and women both than a man without one.

I also think it's important that as John says "lust means desiring to have sex with [another person] for your own pleasure." We could have this feeling anywhere and at any time. We could have these feelings about an attractive woman in a very modest dress. So, there's really no place that's necessarily free from temptation.

The priest in the homily said, "women give men the forbidden fruit and men take it." I really agree with this point. I'm not sure that women in bikinis realize that they are doing this. I'm not sure if the men that look at them lustfully are even aware of taking the fruit.  For now, I'll say that going to the beach is a complicated thing. It might be an occasion of sin but so are many things in life. Knowing yourself with humility is perhaps the most important step before going to the beach.