‘Inappropriate’: Uproar over Aussie council’s G-string bikini ban

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A local council has sparked outrage after it labelled G-string bikinis as “inappropriate” swimwear for its pools.

Blue Mountains Leisure Centres (BMLC), an arm of the Blue Mountains City Council, recently confirmed its ban on skimpy swimmers following confusion from visitors to its swimming pools.

Pool users had been left scratching their heads after a poster showing the kind of swimwear that is and isn’t appropriate according to council standards was recently displayed at BMLC venues, including Katoomba Sports and Aquatic Centre, Springwood Aquatic and Fitness Centre, Blackheath Pool and Glenbrook Swim Centre.

To clarify the situation, BMLC took to its Facebook page to state: “Thongs and G-string swimwear is not acceptable for males or females when visiting our leisure centres.”

It added that “bikinis are acceptable and considered recognised swimwear”.

The ban quickly sparked anger among Australians, with many expressing shock at the “old-fashioned” and “ridiculous” rules.

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https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/fashion-trends/inappropriate-uproar-over-aussie-pool-chains-gstring-bikini-ban/news-story/21c273e20b3258bacf9131299e7697ab

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Of course, some commenter asked about banning the “male equivalent – Budgy Smugglers.” It is funny how so many people think briefs are anything like a thong.

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I always hated how much control others had over my life when I was a kid, and few things were worse than being scolded by an adult for harmless behavior. How naive I was to think it would be any different when I grew older.

The arguments in favor of regulations like these are always the same. “Think of the children” is the most common refrain, followed by assertions that women need to cover up around men who can’t control themselves or that the human body is inherently inappropriate.

Similar bans were proposed in New Zealand and Australia last year.

“It was pornographic,” Dixon claimed.

“I don’t want to be an overprotective mum. Is that the space we’re in with society now? If so, I’ll find ways to prepare my kids for that. But do we have to do that?”

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“It was the frustration after spending a summer at rivers, beaches and the pools, of always seeing girls in g-string bikinis,” Dixon explained.

“I don’t want to seem like an overbearing mum, but there hasn’t been a space where my boys can enjoy themselves without having to be on alert, avoid places or look away.”

“We’re never completely comfortable to enjoy ourselves as a family.”

Parents could put parental controls on devices to prevent children from accessing inappropriate material, or move to another part of the beach to avoid seeing someone dressed inappropriately, she said.

“But I can’t do that when we’re at the pools.”

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“I also wondered if it was women of a certain body size wearing g-strings, or men exposing their bodies, would we be okay about that?”

— Amy Dixon, who suggested banning thongs and g-strings at pools in New Zealand.

Ian Grace, a businessman and finalist in last year’s Local Hero of the Year awards, said he has been concerned about the swimwear item “around for about 12 months, to be honest”, having attended “family events” where “young ladies, miles from the beach”, were “walking around with these bare bums with almost nothing at the front as well”.

“We don’t need it,” he said on Sydney radio on Monday.

“I believe the women themselves are demeaning and cheapening themselves.”

“I think that’s wrong for young women.”

He said he was particularly concerned about children aged 11 to 17: “We want to make sure they have healthy relationships,” he said.

— Ian Grace, who proposed banning thongs and g-strings on the beach in Australia and received support from Family First Party, a conservative political party.

Fortunately, public outcry led local governments to reject both proposals.

And they’re voicing their opposition to this ban as well.

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Your post is interesting about control over your choices as a child and now finding in later life there are still attempts to do so.

I have two other issues that arise out of these discussions. First is the implicit assumption, by men especially, that it’s up to women to change their dress—not that men need to take responsibility for their own behavior and feelings. The other is that gender norms remain so strong and that women in thongs/g-strings may be acceptable in some places, but even men in Budgy Smugglers (and heaven forbid thongs/g-strings) are seen as largely unacceptable in many places.

Noting I do avoid thonging in family areas, when families encroach on an area that was family-free, my observation is young kids couldn’t care less unless the adults start making an issue of it. Teens are a different story, but again, observation suggests after the initial sniggers or whatever, teens either move on or get bored with the issue.

Either way, I agree adults tend to trot out the ‘what about the children’ line as a cover for their own inability to ‘live and let live.’

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