Seriously, Can We Stop Bitching About The Bikini Bottoms On ‘Bachelor In Paradise’

Since Bachelor In Paradise started airing, one fashion trend has been getting many, many viewers knickers in a twist. The thong bikinis worn by the women on the show.

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Yes, really. Forget the fact that half these men have been treating the women they date appallingly – apparently many folks are just concerned about how much butt we’re seeing on TV.

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It got so relentless last week that even host Osher Gunsberg weighed in, coming in to bat for the ladies and their choices.

Now, the women themselves are speaking out on social media. Late last week, Alisha posted an Instagram Story in which she basically said a) why are we still policing the skimpiness of women’s wardrobes and b) she spent a month at F45 before heading to Paradise, so she was gonna flaunt that toned bod.

Firstly, it’s completely stupid that we’re criticising the bikinis these women are wearing as though it’s some revolutionary thing to see women in g-string bikinis. The g-string bikini is bang on trend right now. Head to any Aussie beach and you’ll find a shitload of ladies repping their own version, because it’s what’s in fashion. It’s not like these women came together in a weird bikini coven and determined to show off their toned butts to start an Evil Trend just to hurt you.

But most importantly, I believe the issue here is that we’re critiquing the SKIMPINESS. Critique fashion all you want – I fucking do in all my red carpet wraps. But when we clutch our pearls over women for baring too much skin, we set feminism back decades. And that’s the issue at hand here – the criticism over the bikinis is about how much they cover/don’t cover, which plays directly into that bullshit slut/virgin dichotomy where what you wear determines if you were to blame for being raped or assaulted.

I know that seems like a stretch, and no one is outrightly saying these women are sluts for wearing such tiny swimwear. But it’s all the same conversation, because a bunch of people making noise over some ladies baring their asses as though it’s a personal offence to their eyeballs is sending the message “this is too sexual” which is exactly the argument behind anyone who equates what a woman wore on the night she was assaulted with her assault.

I know it’s a reality TV show. But the thing is these widely-viewed series’ are usually where social conversation starts. So yes, how we talk about womens bodies on Bachelor In Paradise is important, and we should question why we are so offended by a few toned butts.

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