A New Zealand mother concerned about her young children has called for string bikinis to be banned in public places, but her campaign is significantly different to an earlier one started by an Australian man who was concerned about women being “cheapened”.
In February, community worker Ian Grace sparked outrage after calling for skimpy bikinis to be banned from Gold Coast beaches because they made him feel “uncomfortable”.
Now New Zealand mother Amy Dixon wants “pornographic” clothing banned from her local public swimming pool in New Plymouth.
Ms Dixon, who has three children, started a petition asking whether it was prudish to want the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre to ban thongs.
He petition It has already collected almost 200 signatures.
She started the campaign after her eight-year-old son saw a young girl wearing a thong while in his swimming class.
“The term ‘itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini’ seems to have taken on a whole new meaning,” she wrote on the petition page.
“It was pornographic,” Ms Dixon told her local newspaper. Taranaki Daily News.
There has been another call for a ban on string bikinis (pictured), but this time it’s coming from a concerned mother trying to protect her children, not a man worried about women becoming “cheaper”.
“I don’t want to be an overprotective mother. Is that the situation we’re in today in society? If so, I’ll find ways to prepare my children for that. But do we have to?”
While the aquatic center stipulates that women’s breasts must be adequately covered, it currently has no rule against wearing thongs.
On her petition page, Ms Dixon said the fact that women often wear thongs has left her family “feeling uncomfortable and the enclosed area means looking away or moving is not always an option”.
“I wonder if this also creates a barrier for other members of our community who might avoid these spaces altogether,” she wrote.
She has found plenty of support for her stance, with one signer writing that “pools are generally places for children, the fact that women think it’s okay to be so inappropriate is mind-boggling.”
“They just want to be looked at.”
Another wrote: “I want to have a fun family outing without my kids and I getting problems on our faces.”
Ms Dixon has gained support from some neighbours.
An Australian teacher commented that “they see this frequently. It’s not appropriate for a child to be exposed to this!”
When Mr Grace, founder and chairman of local charity Youth Music Venture, raised a scandal about thongs on the Gold Coast, he said it was about “protection”.
“I don’t think young teenagers want to be seen as sexy, it’s just the current fashion,” she said at the time.
“And I absolutely think the real problem here is the men who might be looking at the girls.”
He detailed an incident that made him feel ‘uncomfortable’ when he recently walked past a woman in a thong.
“One young lady in particular was walking down the sidewalk of the main road and she had a tiny triangle in front of her and she was as naked as anyone could be,” he wrote.
New Zealand mother Amy Dixon wants “pornographic” thongs banned from her local public pool in New Plymouth to protect her children (file image)
In February, community worker Ian Grace sparked outrage after calling for skimpy bikinis to be banned from Gold Coast beaches because they made him feel “uncomfortable”.
‘While any man would enjoy “that view,” I think women degrade and cheapen themselves too much, presenting themselves as sexual objects and then complaining when men see them that way.’
He said that ‘bare bottoms’ are just as erotic as bare breasts and should therefore be banned in the same way.
“If they are not banned from the beach, they are definitely banned the moment they leave the beach,” he wrote.
“This should not be allowed in public pools or water parks or theme parks, which are more family-oriented. Little boys don’t need to see women’s backsides.”
