Bikinis were made for the male gaze so isn't it about time we stopped wearing them

I agree

its tankinis all the way for me, though i did have the fleeting thought of wearing a bikini while on holiday last week….fleeting

I wear a bikini top because I have big boobs and need bra like support. My life was greatly improved when I realised that, instead of worrying about my bikini line, I could just buy much bigger, full coverage bikini bottoms.

Because I’m very pale and burn easily, I then wear a long sleeved rash vest type thing and, because we holiday in the UK, I wear wetsuit leggings.

Basically I end up wearing more on the beach than I do anywhere else in the summer.

I am bemused by women who wear almost nothing in public and have their buttocks out on the beach, but then I feel buttocks of either sex should be covered in public, I am a bit of a prude.

If you read the post I quoted carefully, you will see that it says “wear a bikini or go topless”.

I chose the wear a bikini option when responding.

This is kind of besides the point but for the people saying “I wear a bikini to get a tan on my stomach”
you really really shouldn’t be doing this. Tanning is worse for the skin than smoking, it’s really not a good idea at all for your health. On the subject of bikinis I don’t care what people wear but those thong bikinis make me squirm. I find them gross I can’t help it. People are entitled to wear whatever they want though.

I'm on holiday ATM and bikinis are the norm for women, old, young, fat and thin. Interestingly a leather bikini was found years ago from the Roman era so they have been around a long time.

@330ml You go topless in Egypt? Of course some women do but it's rare. And very likely to get someone into trouble

I was referring to your comment wrt you doing what you want, even going topless.
It's clearly limited to certain places where that's acceptable. Not just wearing whatever you want, anywhere .

I live up to my name and swim naked as often as I can, rivers mostly. Sometimes when people are around, I stick on a bikini so as to respect their sensibilities.

Post menopause, so I’m now invisible to the male gaze and wear as much or as little as I like with impunity.

I find it odd that the extra few inches of material can make it so much more hot and sweaty. I wear both depending on how body confident I’m feeling but have to say I don’t find the swimsuits any different in terms of being hot etc

Well not if we want brown tummies we wont!

Well said.

well, there are different types of bikinis?

Skimpy thong types might be better if you only plan on sunbathing, whereas if I go bodyboarding or to a waterpark I've got some which are basically crop tops plus hi-rise bottoms - comfortable but keep everything in, actually less likely to ride up my bum or have the straps come loose than a swimsuit.

The issue with swimsuits is that there's very little variance for size - a woman wearing a size 14 could be 5'1 or 6 foot, with a b cup or f cup - what's slightly too long in the torso for one person might end up with straps falling down, if it's too short in the torso the bottoms will ride up. A good bikini doesn't have any of those issues, plus you can pick and choose different sizes if you're big boobed but small waisted/ big bum and smaller boobs etc.

No way mate; I want the sun on my belly

I am in Italy and on the beaches I go to, almost every woman wears a bikini whatever her age or size. So much more comfortable than sitting around with a wet costume on your midriff.

Try having HH boobs and finding a one piece that can accommodate them while also fitting everywhere else! Bikinis are a necessity for some of us

I also have never travelled to Egypt either so whether I would be ‘allowed’ to wear a bikini or go topless without getting locked up is entirely irrelevant.

I have. I did. I didn’t get locked up.

OK. The message is "Don't wear this style of clothing because it encourages men to think sex thoughts about you."

There are two large flaws in this line of argument:

1. Men think sex thoughts about women, no matter what the women wear. By and large, men think women exist to give them a stiffy. (Evidence: they're offended if forced to notice women continuing to exist into old age.) This is not caused by female clothing, it's caused by testosterone + patriarchy.
2. Women sometimes want men to think sex thoughts about them, patriarchy notwithstanding. As noted, no specific clothing choice will guarantee the desired type of sex-thinking, but the argument obviously isn't going to wash with women wanting to mate.

Honestly I think we are beyond the 'male gaze' thing in some areas if life.

Let's say all the men went extinct tomorrow, you bet that a sizeable chunk of women would continue with bikinis, Botox, hair dyes and blow dries.

We're a vain bunch.

Stop the shops encouraging little girls wearing adult women-style bikinis though - it's fricking weird.

They are made for 'women who want to attract the male gaze'

I don’t live in Egypt or any other country where my clothing choices are decided by someone else. I also have never travelled to Egypt either so whether I would be ‘allowed’ to wear a bikini or go topless without getting locked up is entirely irrelevant. I am allowed to wear my bikini in Oz, New Zealand, Alaska and other areas of the US. I have swam in the sea off a beach in Lofoten Islands among many many other places - I don’t need Egypt!

The memo I got was live in a country where I am free to wear what I wish and travel to countries where my clothing choices are my own. Nowhere on the memo did it tell me I need to go anywhere where that choice is taken from me! Shame you didn’t get that same memo.

This is actually a perfect example of the patriarchy's influence. Only young women are "fuckable" and therefore attractive to look at.
We have all totally bought into it and never seem to question it.

The "male gaze" is also critical - it affects us all - if only in what we believe about ourselves.

I still can't believe this thread is on FWR.
If it reaches 1000 posts I'll make a massive donation to the JKR chicken fund 👍

Who gives a flying? If you don't wear them just because they pander to the male gaze, you're still allowing men to dictate your clothes choices, and also denying yourself form wearing from something you like. It's madness.

I've never liked swimming costumes, even when I was younger. They always rode up my backside - satisfying the male gaze even more so, presumably. Costumes just don't suit my shape. In fact, even the word 'costume' annoys me!😅

I love a beautiful bikini. I think they're so much nicer and more comfortable to wear.

Me too! I'd never wear clothes. Well maybe a comfort sheet for certain situations and sitting down but yeah.

If it wasn't for the male gaze pretty sure I'd be butt naked on the beach