A Gold Coast man has ignited a national debate over a controversial call to ban G-string bikinis on Australian beaches, with people branding his comments "shocking" and "sexist".
Ian Grace, the founder of a youth charity, has called for Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate to put a stop to women wearing revealing swimwear in a letter published by the Gold Coast Bulletin.
The 2022 Gold Coast Volunteer of the Year said the bikini trend made him feel "uncomfortable", claiming that women are "sending the wrong message".
Watch: We tried... *those* bikini bottoms and it went almost exactly as you'd expect. Post continues below.
"At a local event where our musicians were playing, one young lady in particular was walking on the footpath on the main road and had the tiniest triangle in front and was as close to naked as anyone could be," Grace wrote.
"You could see she was looking almost defiantly at people as they approached, almost daring them to say something. There’s something very wrong here.
"While any man would enjoy 'the view', I believe women are very much demeaning and cheapening themselves, portraying themselves as sex objects, then decrying it when men see them that way.
"Bare bums can be seen to be every bit as erotic if not more so, than women’s bare breasts – so would it not make sense they are banned identically? If not banned at the beach, very definitely banned the moment they are off the beach.
"This certainly should not be allowed in public pools or theme/water parks which are very much more family orientated. Young kids don’t need to see women’s bums."
Grace also stated that women in "skin tight" activewear and "crevice filler outfits" made him feel equally "uncomfortable".
"Innocently I admired a shapely bare bum on the beach, and was taken aback and felt uncomfortable when that same young lady was later serving me coffee," he wrote. "I almost felt like I had inadvertently violated her privacy."
"It also goes far from the beach and bikinis, when you look at the 'crevice filler' outfits women wear, whether exercising or just out and about. When walking behind women with these skin-tight outfits, you can see every single movement of each buttock – a pleasant view, but is this not the wrong message?"
Grace backed up his comments on a recent episode of The Project, with hosts Sarah Harris and Steve Price clashing in disagreement over the controversial call.
Harris said she was "lost for words" after speaking with Grace, saying: "It's a fine line isn't it Ian, shouldn't we be teaching our girls to be proud of our bodies and not be ashamed of it?"
Price added: "You tend to say in the letter that you feel uncomfortable when you see this. I tend to agree with that. Particularly when you are getting down to the younger ages."
Touching on Grace's additional commentary around women wearing activewear and revealing blouses at meetings, Price said: "It sounds like you're saying that you don't respect women if you can see too much skin in business meetings, is that what you're saying?"
Grace said: "All I'm saying is that women wear skin-tight clothing, men don't."
According to The Project, Mayor Tate has responded to the ban on G-strings, rejecting the notion of restricting women's fashion choices.
"Ian is a brave man messing with women’s fashion," he said. "One thing I’ve learnt about fashion over the years is that if you try to ban something, or restrict it, that’s a certain recipe to see it double in popularity."
On a Facebook post, one woman wrote: "I don’t agree with “banning” what people choose to wear. We are over regulated as it is. BUT, a little modesty and decorum isn’t a bad thing in a public space."
"When will people have a choice about what they do in their everyday life? Absolutely disgusting," wrote someone else.
What are your thoughts on the call to ban G-string bikinis? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
Feature image: The Today Show/Canva.
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