France isn't what it used to be, said Eric Pape in The Daily Beast. The country that "gave the world Brigitte Bardot" and made topless beaches legendary has decided that bare-breasted sunbathing is passé. Young French women describe themselves as much more modest than older women—and even once "libertine" model-turned-first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy now sports a two-piece bikini at the beach. The government is reinforcing the trend: Women who hit Paris' artificial summer "beach" along the Seine risk fines if they don't wear a top.
Going topless seemed like "a feminist breakthrough," said BBC News, when the trend caught fire after the first women decided they wanted to hit the beach bare-breasted, "just like men." But a lot has happened since those days in St. Tropez back in 1964. Skin cancer dented the popularity of sunbathing, and "'being able' to go topless gradually evolved into feeling obliged to do so," turning a new freedom into just another source of "the endless pressure to flaunt a 'perfect' body."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
