Writer Janet Street-Porter makes some good points in her anti-bikini rant for the Daily Mail. She says:
The bikini is thoroughly evil, as the most efficient (and cruel) way of separating the women from the girls. It's the fashion industry's way of making mature women feel rubbish. It's underwear to swim in with zero support, and there's nowhere to hide.
It's a total mystery to me why grown women think that putting all their bits on display and hoisting up their breasts like a pair of half-set jellies on a plate makes them seem alluring, sexy or seductive. Why on earth would I want to turn the clock back to my teenage years, to pretend that 50 years of eating and drinking haven't taken their toll on my torso?
Look, we all know those women who would rather wear a one-piece as soon as they hit adulthood. That's fine. But we all also know women who look downright spectacular until well past their 40th birthday. We also know women who don't care about the perfect "bikini body," who instead are in pursuit of body comfort, and they feel best in a two-piece. In short: It is not up to this writer — or anyone else — what bathing suit the rest of us should choose to wear.
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As a mom, I am not comfortable with the idea of my daughter in a bikini until she has breasts that fill the top. It just seems gratuitous for a child to wear a bra-like top before she has developed. Which means that once my daughter is allowed to wear one, she will have only about five years until she has to switch to a one-piece. Why is that some stranger's call?
Contrary to popular belief, we do not dress ourselves for others' eyes. We dress for ourselves. So if I want to wear a two-piece and show off all the work I did at the gym, then I will. And if I want to wear a one-piece and hide my "flaws," I will do that too. We all are struggling to be comfortable on the beach or at the pool. So let's stop all the infighting, shall we?
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Wear the bathing suits that suit you, ladies. End of discussion.