Sun’s out, bums out: But how far will we go?

Gee, I’m confused. Look, there is no denying that the latest fashion in swimwear has a lot of front – and very little in the back. Even as a proud feminist (or maybe because I’m a feminist?), I’m taken aback when I see teens under 15 sporting thongs … and I don’t mean those worn on the feet.

I absolutely want to ensure that all girls and women feel comfortable and proud in their bodies, no matter what they wear or what their size, but I struggle with the g-string.

It’s about protection.

I don’t believe that young teens want to be seen as sexy, it’s just the fashion right now. And I absolutely believe that the real issue here is the men who might be ogling the girls.

But just because a problem is unfair, doesn’t mean it’s not still a problem.

The g-string theory is a question I’ve seen pondered by other mothers on social media, and I don’t think any of us have a satisfactory answer.

Indeed, it seems our beaches have become a battlefield in the latest round of body politics, with calls for a ban on g-strings on and off the sand.

Founder and president of local charity Youth Music Venture, Ian Grace – a finalist in the 2023 Gold Coast Australian of the Year Local Hero category and 2022 Gold Coast Volunteer of the Year, said he wrote to Mayor Tom Tate to request an end to our current era of beach bums.

Mr Grace, who is also the chairman of the Palm Beach area Police Community Consultative Committee, said he was shocked by the number of ‘younger ladies parading around virtually naked’ at recent beachside family events he had attended.

“At an event run by our local Councillor Gail O’neill, where our musicians were playing, one young lady in particular was walking on the footpath on the main road and had the tiniest triangle in front and was as close to naked as anyone could be,” he wrote.

“You could see she was looking almost defiantly at people as they approached, almost daring them to say something. There’s something very wrong here.

“While any man would enjoy ‘the view’, I believe women are very much demeaning and cheapening themselves, portraying themselves as sex objects, then decrying it when men see them that way.

“Bare bums can be seen to be every bit as erotic if not more so, than women’s bare breasts - so would it not make sense they are banned identically? If not banned at the beach, very definitely banned the moment they are off the beach.

“This certainly should not be allowed in public pools or theme/ water parks which are very much more family orientated. Young kids don’t need to see women’s bums.”

Mr Grace said it was not just a problem at or nearby beaches, but that he had also seen bare bums at coffee shops on a number of occasions.

He said the active-wear fashion of ‘scrunch bum’ shorts, or what he termed ‘crevice fillers’, also made him uncomfortable, as did revealing blouses at business breakfasts.

“Innocently I admired a shapely bare bum on the beach, and was taken aback and felt uncomfortable when that same young lady was later serving me coffee,” he said.

“I almost felt like I had inadvertently violated her privacy.

“It also goes far from the beach and bikinis, when you look at the ‘crevice filler’ outfits women wear, whether exercising or just out and about. When walking behind women with these skintight outfits, you can see every single movement of each buttock – a pleasant view, but is this not the wrong message?

“I attend numerous business networking meetings, often coming across ladies who are pointedly ‘leading with their breasts’ so to speak, but they have immediately lost business credibility. So maybe women need to acknowledge the fact that displaying boobs and bums definitely has sexual undertones and doesn’t engender respect. I am old school and still do things to respect women and I would love to see confident women taking a positive stance on this. Or, sadly, am I just behind the times?”

Well, Mr Grace could be on to something in terms of catching up to the times. Not so long ago, full-brief bikinis were the height of scandal, decried as the downfall of morality … now they’re considered modest.

Sometimes, it just takes time to acclimatise. The question is, how far do we want to go?