At Shanklin one has to adopt the detestable custom of bathing in drawers. If ladies don't like to see men naked why don't they keep away from the sight.
The Rev Francis Kilvert, June 12, 1874.
More than 100 years after Reverend Kilvert got his trunks in a twist, the response of the shopkeeper in the beach resort of Kerala took me by surprise. When I asked if the locals considered it rude for tourists to sunbathe in skimpy swimwear, he said: "We understand you have to do it for your health."
In a way, of course, he was right. Lying out in the sun is what we northern Europeans yearn for; it makes us feel better. But it hasn't always been that way.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the seaside became popular because of the alleged healing properties of cold sea water, not of the sun - having dark skin was associated with the peasants who worked outside. It was only in the 1920s, when rich Americans made the south of France fashionable in summer, that the suntan came to be seen as a status symbol for the rich.
Today, sunbathing is very much part of our expectations of a holiday. At the beach, some of the boundaries that normally confine us - shyness, class, age - largely disappear. The beach allows us an escape from routine and we can be playful, irresponsible and self-indulgent.
However, there are still unwritten rules. To sunbathe in underwear, for instance, is considered uncouth. In many places - Brazil and the US, for instance - you can wear the tiniest bikini, but it would be inappropriate to go topless. And it took an Egyptian friend to point out that European women will sunbathe topless on the beach in full view of people walking along the sea-front but as soon as they step on to the pavement, they feel compelled to put their clothes back on.
Leisure is very much a western concept, something that has come with increased wealth, as has the idea of lying in the sun for relaxation. In hot countries, people stay in the shade. Getting a tan is not an issue for dark-skinned people; indeed, being dark is generally considered ugly and denotes the working class, just as it used to in Europe. Sitting in the sun is considered crazy and taking one's clothes off, outrageous.
The extreme of this is a backlash against sunbathing, especially topless bathing, in some destinations. And it is not only the case in Islamic countries. After the first charter flights into Goa in the early 1980s, local women campaigned on the beaches to get westerners to put their bikini-tops back on.
Cultural norms take a long time to change. In 400 years, Britons have moved from men and women swimming totally nude together, to the hyper-modesty of horse-drawn bathing machines and segregated beaches, to wearing skirts and bloomers as swimming costumes, to the dental floss bikini and now, in some locations, back to full nudity again. Much of what we love about the beach is its simplicity but, in fact, it's quite a complicated place.
Africa, Asia and South Pacific
Local people often use the beach for picnics and will sit in the shade. Children and young people will often play in the sea, but if young girls or women go in they will generally do so fully clothed.
Thailand and India
Sunbathing is accepted in tourists areas, but you should be aware that it's not normal to reveal your body on a public beach.
Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, Malaysia and Indonesia
Large sectors of the population are Muslim, and women are supposed to cover up in front of men. Topless sunbathing in Islamic countries is illegal.
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iran
Sunbathing, even with a swimming costume, is culturally inappropriate.
