This week I read an article by called, To Girls Wearing “Cheeky” Bathing Suits Bottoms, Please Stop. This article has been receiving a lot of attention on social media, mostly backlash from rightfully angry women, shocked that a college student would write such an article. Naturally, after I read it, I grew very angry so here is my unapologetic response.

In bold I have included direct quotes from the original article to which I responding. But, if you would like to read the full article yourself, have at it. I have pasted the link below.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/cheeky-bathing-suit-bottoms-trend-that-must-stop?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Owned+Social&utm_campaign=Aud+Dev

This trend is ruining women's dignity, and it must be put to an end--Bye.

Definition:

Dignity—the state of being worthy of honor or respect.

Okay, so I could write a whole response article to the first line alone, but I will try to keep it as brief as possible, no pun intended. A pair of cheeky bikini bottoms is destroying the female race’s dignity. Let's swish that idea around in our mouths for a bit, shall we? I repeat…dignity, something that is innate to us as human beings. Yikes, if I am living in a world where people actually think this way I am moving to mars. Or at least, Spain, where they have nude beaches, and I can sip on some sangria to deal with these lunatics.

What a fragile thing this makes women’s dignity, wouldn’t you say? If this were the case, someone better call Emma Watson. Tell her that her achievements as a UN goodwill ambassador are admirable, but her bathing suit last month strips her of any respect or honor that she has earned. Or better yet, call Michelle Obama. Tell her that she has to cover her awesome arms if she wants to be worthy of the American public’s respect. She will chew you up, spit you out, and look completely fabulous doing so.

I believe many women, including myself, are less than thrilled.

Yes, she is saying that other people embracing this trend has caused her to be "less than thrilled." What other women choose to wear to the beach, the club, or a freakin’ EDM music festival is their own business. I do not wish to waste the energy to base my own happiness on what other girls feel beautiful and confident wearing. In fact, I am happy upon seeing my fellow sisters rocking whatever they please despite what others think. Furthermore, based on compliments from my best friends or random girls in bar bathrooms, I can say most women feel similarly.

Maybe that girl you are reprimanding for showing the bottom half of her booty struggled with anorexia and spent years living in baggy clothes. Maybe, now that she is no longer at war with herself, she is proud of her new curves and could care less about what anyone else says. On the other hand, maybe she has always practiced body-confidence and merely wants to minimalize her tan lines a bit. Whatever her reason is, it is her business. So, unless you are to compliment her on her cute bikini and her killer sense of confidence, let that girl live her life.

Coming from a female who cares about her body and self-image, this not only makes me angry but disappointed in the lack of value that women still have today.

Oh boy. Here is the kicker: STILL. So, she is not only implying that women do not have self-value now, but they also did not have self-value in the past as well. She also suggests that the way we are to obtain this self-value is by covering our bodies, not by being at peace with our bodies. All because these women want to wear a pair of bathing suit bottoms that show a couple of inches of (gasp) their butts. Maybe this shows that females have more self-value now. Maybe it shows that women are no longer afraid to show their bodies and dress how they please because they know that they are strong and beautiful and intelligent and worthy no matter what.

First off, why should it be socially acceptable to wear basically a thong around in public in the summer months?

I don’t know? Maybe, because there are nude beaches in Europe? Beaches where women and men can choose to wear or not wear what they please, and they are not completely shamed by society, and it is actually regarded as normal and okay. And, yes, I have been to these beaches. And, no, these women do not seem to have any reservations about their self-worth, nor do European men gawk at the women’s bare bodies. These people are too busy enjoying the beautiful view to care about how an ugly-minded, ethnocentric individual would react if he or she were placed into this happy, Mediterranean paradise.

I understand people are going to disagree with me saying things such as "Women should be free to wear whatever they want, men exercise that right, why shouldn't we?" or "If you're confident in it, rock it." Which if you're one of these people, I understand where you are coming from, BUT do you often see men roaming around in a speedo to attract attention? The answer to that question is obviously no. Therefore, why do women feel the need to succumb to showing more and more skin each year to attract attention?

Here’s where I really get angry. Maybe, just maybe, these women are not showing more skin to attract the attention of men. It’s like saying a girl who shows up at the club in a short skirt is just begging for attention, when, in actuality, she just wants to enjoy a drink with her gal pals, and she feels happy and beautiful in her cute skirt that she worked her tail off to buy.

On the contrary, if a female is sporting cheeky bottoms or a short skirt to attract a man, more power to her! The idea that women cannot embrace their sexuality is equally as archaic and quite frankly cruel. LET THE PEOPLE LIVE. Let them seek out attention, or not seek out attention, from the opposite or same gender as they see fit.

And sure, men don’t wear speedos, or chubbies or whatever is supposedly the “male equivalence” of cheeky bottoms, all the time. But, similarly to women, if they do choose to showcase their perfectly toned or pleasantly plump thighs in the summer months, you do you homeboys. And, no, I will not contemplate whether that guy next to me at the beach is wearing those salmon chubbies to attract a female or just because they make him feel dope. I honestly do not care.

Have bathing suit companies forgotten that often times, women are around young children and family members when sporting a bathing suit? More importantly, what does it teach the younger generation who see women wearing these types of bathing suits? It surely doesn't teach them about having self-respect or dignity in themselves.

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Also, I'm all for the self-confidence, you should feel amazing and proud of what you wear; however, a line needs to be drawn firmly in the sand in regards to what is appropriate and what is not and "cheeky" bathing suit bottoms are not appropriate. I mean think of yourself as a parent, would you want to see your daughter flaunting "her stuff" in a bathing suit that barely covers anything while boys flock to her every side? I think not.

How about we teach young children that their self-respect or dignity is not determined by what they wear. Let’s abolish this archaic idea once and for all.

Of course, things can be flipped around when we bring parents into the equation. Does my strong, beautiful, caring mother buy me cheeky bottoms and send me on my way? Definitely not. However, she would never discourage me from wearing something more risqué because she believes that it says something about my self-worth. She hopes I dress more conservatively. She does so only because she knows that there are people out there who still employ obsolete and unethical views on how women choose to dress, and she does not want her little girl to be subject to their hate.

But that’s just the approach that my mother chooses to take to attempt to shield me from the select few men that will see my body as their playground and the select few women that will crucify me instead of loving me. She also told me the truth: whether I wear a sundress or a parka, these hateful people will regard me all the same. Until this is no longer the case, she can never truly protect me.

So, instead, she raised me in hopes that I would grow into a strong, feisty firecracker of a young woman. A woman who would overcome the twisted people that ACTUALLY sum up my self-worth by evaluating what I decide to wear on a day-to-day basis. So, in honor of all the strong beautiful mamas out there that cherish us, let’s say we change what some people think a woman’s outfit means, instead of making girls change their outfits.

Which answers her next question, do I want my future daughter sporting a risqué pair of bathing suit bottoms while boys flock to her side? Well, first let’s just do away with the idea that my daughter wearing skimpy bottoms means that boys will be flocking to her side. Maybe they will flock to her because of her cheeky personality and refusal to let anyone tell her how to be a proper woman. And, regarding her wearing skimpy bottoms, I say let her dress as she pleases. If she wants to wear skimpy bottoms and feels strong and beautiful while doing so, then I will send her off to the beach with her friends happily. If she wants to wear a rash guard to the beach, then I will be equally as happy. I like to think that, when or if I have children, this will no longer even need to be a conversation. My sons will sport chubbies or speedos if they please, and they will not be conditioned to think that a girl who is showing some extra skin is begging for their attention. My daughters will be confident about their bodies and only contemplate what they want to wear, not what society says they should wear. What a beautiful, loving, open-minded world it will be.

So to all the beautiful and awesome humans of the world: wear wetsuits or cheeky bottoms or speedos or freakin’ batman costumes to the beach if it makes you happy. And don’t let anyone tell you that in choosing to do so you are somehow undermining your own dignity or self-worth.

Sincerely,

A girl who does not even own a pair of cheeky bathing suit bottoms but will be buying a pair before summer as an act of defiance.