The Cultural Relativism of the Bikini
“The one thing Americans just can’t understand,” I said to my British and Brazilian colleagues as we sat on the beach in Porto de Gallinhas this morning, “is how obese women can wear bikinis.”
Granted, it wasn’t the most professional conversation we could have been having, but after sitting alone on the beach and watching bags while they all took a dip, I’d had plenty of time to ponder this matter, and I really wanted some help working through it.
“Really?” said one of the Brazilians, completely surprised. “You have a problem with bikinis? You Americans are so funny!”
But it was the Brit who decoded it all:
“People in the US and UK think women here are vain for being large and choosing to wear bikinis. But really, vanity is what keeps them from trying a bikini. I actually think that if a big woman is wearing a bikini, she clearly feels confident about herself.”
We pondered this in silence for a bit. I was looking for the beautiful people, the ones who appear in the glossy pages of Brazil’s travel brochures. But Alex was right. No one on the beach seemed to care less about who was wearing a bikini or what size anyone was.
Not that that makes me want to try on a bikini….
February 20th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
As I big girl myself – although, vanity forces me to say, not as big as either of these two women – I like wearing a bikini, but I only do so on the shores of the Med (where I spend all of my bikini time).
Having grown up on a beach in the States, and always having fought a weight battle, it’s not so much that *I* don’t want to wear one there – it’s that everyone FREAKING STARES like I’m a freak for doing so, and frankly it makes me uncomfortable.
My first summer in Italy, I went to the beach in what in the U.S. was an acceptable “big girl” bathing suit – i.e., a very modest one-piece with a small skirt attached. This wouldn’t get a second glance in the U.S., but the Europeans looked at me in open shock – as if I had chosen to come to the beach in a ballgown. And, at that point, I felt that way as well!
I looked around at all the women there, most of them topless, of every possible age, color, skin type and size – and no one gave a rat’s ass. FINALLY I could realize my dream of traipsing around the beach in a bikini – alright, alright, passed out on a chaise longue, not exactly traipsing – and be completely, 100 percent accepted – yea, ignored.
Funnily enough, in the U.S. there is a much bigger selection of everyday wear for bigger girls, but not much of a swimsuit collection. Here, it’s the opposite – hardly any decent, age-appropriate plus-size wear, but bathing suits in every conceivable size and type.
February 20th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Interesting thoughts, as usual. Funny, I would not call either of your photos “obese” women, but very normal, average woman’s body.
They say the average woman wears a size 14, even Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14. The second photo is probably only a 10 on top and both women are most likely on the short side ( based on race averages).
The first one appears to be an older woman and perhaps the 2nd one as well, partly based on the older men they appear to be with. Good chance, both are mothers, which tends to mature a woman’s body in unique ways, along with nursing.
As I look at drawn images from my child’s great book on sex,” It is so amazing” I see drawn images that look just like these women which are suppose to represent normal body type for a “grown up” woman.
In this age of always air brushed, photo shop unreal beauty glaring at us every where and endless plastic surgery ( even in small towns breast plants are rampant), I think we have really lost touch on what a woman’s body and curves look like.
http://www.healthbolt.net/2006/12/27/a-short-history-of-the-ideal-female-body/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knEIM16NuPg
I loved the beaches of Rio when I was there many years ago in my youth & certainly saw plenty of beautiful bodies, along with plenty of every description. I was amazed at how much attention I got simply by being blond, blue eyed and tall.
I found it is like beachers, nude, topless or bikini’d all around the world….very, very few spectacular, magazine, model type bodies. Most are of the normal, human variety, especially those over 30 and with kids.
I actually think the sight of big bellied older men in tiny speedos ( which is very common in Europe) causes more of a reaction in American’s as that is a more rare sight than a chubby girl in a bikini.
Go on, put on that bikini, show off that baby bump! Or better yet, go to a nude beach and bask in the joy of being naked in nature, knowing that ANY body is a perfect body and a gift!
February 20th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
This came up when we were in France two summers ago. We met this group women, all 50s or older, sitting topless, drinking wine and having an amazing time. None was the least bit self conscious.
We are trained in the US to find imperfection. It’s so ingrained in our media, marketing and PR.
We are also trained differently as to what is appropriate. Many of the North Americans I met in Europe felt uncomfortable at the sight of young girls just hitting puberty in their bikinis. Perhaps because in addition to seeking perfection, the bikini and exposed breasts are seen as primarily sexual.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
OMG I’m at a healthy weight and don’t dare wear a bikini. Vanity I have, courage I lack.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:41 am
And Americans traveling through the south of France can’t believe that large, older women wear bikinis…without the top! But it’s true that no one looks or cares, it’s totally normal. They just have completely different ideas about the human body.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:55 am
I happened to come across this which I think proves that skinny, fake boobs, and endless money does not necessarily make a perfect bikini body either.
http://ifitandhealthy.com/donatella-versace-bikini-donatella-versace-plastic-surgery/
I could not resist adding it to the conversation.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 am
Thanks, everyone, for um… weighing in! I’m really glad to read your diverse opinions on the subject and agree that the lesson learned is: Let’s just all be ourselves and worry less about what others think about us!
February 27th, 2009 at 6:47 am
[...] Julie at Collazao projects had an interesting post on the cultural relativism of bikinis. [...]
February 27th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Go for it girl!
The Greeks are the same, all sizes, all ages wear a bikini – if you’re in the one piece, you’re the odd one out.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 am
@SoulTraveler3: yikes.. that’s scary looking.. And the implants there is really quite obvious.. tsk tsk!
April 29th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
paso madreeee ahora si me dejaron con la boca abiertaaaa, a eso le llamo tener seguridad en si mismaaaaaaa, que barbaridad y yo me quejo de mis dos kilos de mas !!!!!!
February 28th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Wow, if these women graced the beach in Karachi, the men would feel like they were getting a free show. The majority of Pakistani women go in the water with ALL their clothes on. This isn’t necessarily modest considering the way the cotton kameez clings to the body and creates a see-through effect, but I guess the idea is that you shouldn’t show any skin. Normally they don’t go further than their knees since swimming isn’t a skill people are taught. Bikini wearing and concepts of modesty are definitely culturally relative…