A Greater Sydney council has announced it will ban thong bikinis in public swimming pools without providing further details on how the rule will be policed, stoking a debate over gender standards.

Earlier this month, Blue Mountains Leisure Center (BMLC) posted on Facebook that they noticed some "confusion" about "appropriate swimwear" during a visit to one of their pools.

BMLC's five swimming pools include Glenbrook Swimming Centre, Blackheath Swimming Pool and Lawson Swimming Centre.

"Much of (the confusion) centers around a poster showing which swimsuits are appropriate and which are not. It's important to remember that these images are for reference only," the post said.

"In particular, the 'revealing swimsuit/thong' image raised some eyebrows. This image refers to thongs and thongs, not bikini tops and bottoms.

“G-strings and thong swimsuits are not permitted for men or women when visiting our leisure centres.

"Bikini are acceptable and considered accepted swimwear."

The clarification sparked debate in the comments, ranging from "If you don't like it, don't watch it" to "It's about the rules... don't like them? Then swim and bare your butt elsewhere".

Others expressed outrage at the ruling.

“As long as[practicality]and safety are taken into account, it shouldn’t be anyone else’s business that I’m comfortable swimming in it,” one person commented.

The post has now been deleted.

Culture expert Lauren Rosewarne said Australia had a long history of policing women's bodies and summer discussions about appropriate swimwear provided "legitimacy to women wearing tiny swimsuits".

Rose Varn, associate professor at the University of Melbourne's School of Social and Political Sciences, added that women's bodies and clothing have been a source of public debate in a way that was not the case for men.

"The undercurrent of these stories is that somehow women are doing things with their bodies to distract men and make men feel like they're being seduced, and it's up to women to solve their own problems...Somehow the responsibility lies with them. Women should not arouse men’s desires, because then men will do bad things and be punished, so we must put the moral responsibility on women’s shoulders.”

She believes it's not women's responsibility if parents have to have age-appropriate conversations with their children because of the way they dress.

"Not everything is sexual just because you think it is," she said.

Most pools have appropriate swimwear rules, many of which require full briefs.

In 2023, Adelaide's Marion outdoor pool was criticized for saying people should wear "modest swimsuits" or "standard bikinis".

Earlier this year a man called on the Gold Coast Council to ban revealing swimsuits because they made him feel "uncomfortable". "While any man would enjoy 'the view,' I find women very demeaning and demeaning," he reportedly wrote. He said he "innocently...admired a shapely naked ass" and then felt "uncomfortable." .

In competitive swimming, Swimming Australia's guidelines state that swimsuits must be modest, and their list of "acceptable" swimsuits does not include thongs.

The committee declined to comment.