Skin, skin! Go to the beach and that’s all that is seen. A bikini, every girl seems to have one these days, but it hasn’t been around forever. On July 5th, 1946 a French designer named Louis Reard revealed his two piece swimsuit at a popular pool in Paris. The first bikini was worn by a French model named Micheline Bernardini (“Bikini Introduced” par 1). The invention of the bikini set a trend for fashion that shows through even now. The clothes we wear in 2016 also show a lot skin, and the bikini was a stepping stone for even more revealing clothes and small swimsuits. The idea of smaller, less modest swimsuits and clothing and more daring fashion statements arose from the invention of the two piece swimsuit, the bikini.
A smaller, less modest version of the bikini is now the social norm but that wasn’t always the case. In the early 1930’s women wore a halter top and shorts with only a little stomach showing to enjoy a day at the beach (“Bikini Introduced” par 2). When Louis Reard introduced his new “less is more” bikini that all changed. Louis said “a two piece swimsuit wasn’t a bikini unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring” (Foreman par
The idea of a smaller swimsuit and more skin was seen as “predominately for the delights of display” (Foreman par 5). In our year of 2016 we not only have smaller swimsuits but also magazines that advertise women in smaller swimsuits. Since the beginning of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 1997 they have brought in up to 1 billion dollars (Spector par 3). They have a fan base of over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million people a week (Spector par 6).This magazine features pictures of women in tiny bikinis and none of the content is safe for work. The first issue in 1997 previewed a woman on the front cover wearing a tiny white bikini, this later became their best selling issue of the magazine (Spector par 5). The invention of the bikini was a stepping stone for even more revealing fashion.
The bikini may cause controversy now but when Reared came out with the bikini in 1946 it was far worse. The bikini was so scandalous Reared had a hard time finding models that would wear it (Raymonnd par 19). Before the bikini's debut he printed newspaper type over the swimsuit. It was a hit with the young men and he received over 50,000 fan letters (“Bikini Introduced” par 4).The bikini revealed more skin as time went on and people believed it just showed too much. The European churches were so offended they banned the racy swimsuit from being worn on their beaches (Raymonnd par 20). In America we held off accepting the bikini until the 1960s (“Bikini Introduced” par 6). Not all outcomes were bad, After World War II it was the first war free summer so everyone spent their days on the beach in their new bikini (“Bikini Introduced” par 3).
Did the bikini go from being harmless to just revealing and disrespectful? Do bikinis sexualize women and our culture? Do we want our children or even our grandchildren to be worse? Should it be normal to see half naked women in magazines and on TV? Should we really be sending this sexualized message to our young women? What do you think?
"1947.” ELLE, 22 Apr. 2012, http://www.elle.com/fashion/g2906/the-history-of-the-bikini-654900/?slide=2.
"1930's and 40's.” ELLE, 22 Apr. 2012, http://www.elle.com/fashion/g2906/the-history-of-the-bikini-654900/?slide=2.
Works Cited
“Bikini Introduced.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010,http://www.history.com/this-
day-in- history/bikini-introduced.
Foreman, Katya. “Why the Bikini Became a Fashion Classic.” BBC Culture, 21 Oct. 2014,
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130913-the-bikini-an-itsy-bitsy-classic.
Raymonnd, Susan. “Swim Wear History.” Vintage Fashion Guild : Fashion History, 3 July
2013, http://vintagefashionguild.org/fashion-history/swim-wear-history/.
Spector, Dina. “The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: A $1 Billion Empire.” Business Insider,
Business Insider, Inc, 12 Feb. 2013, http://www.businessinsider.com/business-facts-about-the-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue-2013-2.
How the Bikini Changed the World
