Ripples #88

Compiled and written by Lenny Giteck

Two New Brouhahas About Proper
Swimming Attire in Public Pools Ripples has reported on a number of disputes regarding acceptable swimming attire and “modesty” at public pools — including brouhahas involving Muslims, Orthodox Jews, a woman who underwent a double mastectomy (and wanted to swim topless) and another woman intent on hiding her varicose veins (and wanted to cover her legs).

Now come two new disputes to add to our collection. The first took place in Australia, where 39-year-old Katherine Pulo attempted to join her kids in the pool while wearing a dress. According to a report on sheikyermami.com, the lifeguard on duty would not allow the woman to swim in that attire, asserting that only Muslim women were allowed to do so. From the article:

Pulo said she’s worn the dress previously without incident and asked the lifeguard, “How do you know I’m not Muslim?” “You’re not Muslim,” she said the guard replied. “I feel discriminated against,” Pulo told the Illawara Mercury [newspaper]. “Just because I’m not bound by a religion shouldn’t mean I can’t dress modestly….Why should I miss out on going for a swim because I’m conscious about my body?”

Back in Bakersfield, Calif., 64-year-old Scott Whyte got into a row over a T-shirt. From the Web site bakersfieldcalifornian.com:

[Whyte], who wears a T-shirt when swimming because he has scars from open-heart surgery and past issues with precancerous skin, believes the rules are unclear and thinks city officials have been arrogant in their responses to him.

Later in the report, Whyte is quoted as follows:

“This whole thing is about the abuse of power I experienced and the subsequent arrogance from the city in saying ‘You disobeyed the rules.’ They don’t want to discuss the way the rules are enforced.”

The incident itself was rather complicated: A lifeguard told Whyte he couldn’t swim in the T-shirt; a supervisor said he could. The cloth content of the T-shirt became a central focus: The pool administration claimed cotton shirts are a safety hazard. All the other swimmers got out of the pool and yelled at Whyte; he allegedly used vulgar, vitriolic language. And so forth. Ripples recommends clicking on the link below to learn every juicy detail.

We close by expanding on the plea once made by the late Rodney King (who, ironically, met his demise in a swimming pool): Can’t we all get along…and swim together?

To learn more about the episode in Australia, click here. To learn more about the episode in California, click here.

Of course, the other end of the swimming-attire spectrum can be problematic as well…

Ripples Classic: Oct. 24, 2012

Happy Birthday to Nuuude…
Happy Birthday to Nuuude…

Murphy’s Law being what it is, group public nudism does have the potential for unintended, undesirable consequences. Take, for example, the recent birthday party for a 7-year-old British lad held at Radcliffe Pool and Fitness Centre in Greater Manchester. Due to a scheduling snafu on the part of the facility, the mother throwing the party and other parents in attendance were horrified to see 20 naked men showing up en masse.

A spokesman for the facility was quoted on dailymail.co.uk as saying:

“This naturist swim was a private booking from 6:30-8 p.m., at a time when it was assumed that no one else would be in the building. On this occasion, it would appear that we overlooked the fact that the children, who were booked into the pool from 5-6 p.m., would then go into the canteen space on the first floor for their party.”

Apparently, it was the first time such a group had been booked at the facility. “If further bookings [for nudists] are taken again,” the spokesman added, “they will be at a time when no other groups will be using the pool area.”

As for what transpired after the naked chaps showed up, the article relates:

“Staff had taped bin bags and paper to the windows in attempt to keep the naturist party from view. But the boy’s shocked mother said she and other parents had to stand in front of cracks and at the balcony to make sure children didn’t see them.”

And with that cheeky incident, Ripples once again says…
Until next time, happy watershaping to you!