tuff titties

19th August 2010

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parisian prudes

when you hear the words nudity and france used in the same sentence, most of us tend not to flinch. our culture, in general, has become desensitized whence in the midst of bare naughty bits, and because those freewheeling frenchies pioneered the notion of acceptance way back when the sexual revolution and women’s lib were hot potatoes.

so now when you hear those two words are at odds with each other, well, in the words of tim allen: “hhuah?”

apparently going topless on the beach is a thing of the past. once a proud display of feminism, today’s women fear unwanted glances from men—even on nude or topless beaches where showing off ones goods is allowed. a majority of women, though, who decide to go sans cloth up top are older, proving this difference of opinion is generational. topless bather beatrice, 37, agrees. “it’s true that younger girls aren’t doing it anymore, it’s more normal for my generation,” she says. ”it doesn’t bother me one way or the other.”

but youngin’s like fanny feel differently. “we don’t like men staring,” she complains. ”it might have been okay when everyone was doing it, but today if you walked to the sea topless you’d be stared at. it would be an event.”

“the aspiration for summer nudity is too deeply written into the body’s desires for the practice to disappear,” says jean-claude kaufmann, author of women’s bodies, men’s glances. “but it’s true that in 15 years the cultural markers have completely changed. what was hip is now out of style. young women in particular are quick to stigmatize ‘old’ (at 50!) ones who dare to take off their bikini tops.”

but the same girls who stigmatize those who dare to bare are also those who are buying into the retro ’50s fashion that has become popular both on the beach and in the office, which begs the question: if we are reverting to the look of yesterday, are we then, too, reverting to a pre-feminist society?

as we constantly are trying to reinvent retro looks as we move forward, i feel that, as far as feminism is concerned, much gets lost in translation.

Tagged: francehome improvementnuditybreastsfeminismbeachessex