Mothers, just say ‘no’ to the swimsuit!
Swimsuit season starts early in the South. By the second week of February, my Mother would drag me to Gayfers to ensure I had first choice of the sturdiest of all the Jantzen suits. She knew if we waited too late, the selection would be picked-over and I’d have to settle for a flimsy suit that wouldn’t hold up to the waves and would make boys stare at me, and what teenage girl wants that, right?
Begrudgingly, I’d try on fourteen different suits until one passed the “bend-over” test. Once from the front, and once from the back. If nothing poked, plopped or peeked out, then we were good to go, and since I had very little that would actually spill out, it didn’t take long for me to be given the official maternal stamp of approval.
After I was old enough to drive and had spending money of my own, I went to the mall and came home with the first swimsuit I chose without having to endure Mom’s rigorous “bend-over” testing standards. I’ll just tell you the God’s honest truth right now, and Mama will agree – that particular swimsuit purchase resulted in one of the worst Mother-daughter brawls known to mankind.
Saying “no” to my swimsuit choice was a hard thing for my Mom to do, because she knew the wrath of teenage hormones that would be unleashed on her would be slightly worse than using a bee hive as a piñata.
But still . . . she said “no.”
In the years since, it has become apparent that Mothers (and Fathers too), have stopped saying “no” to their daughter’s swimming attire. My husband and I picked our son up from a pool party and were shocked to see
. . . Â click HEREÂ to finish the story on AL.com.
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This is soooo funny. Honestly, you nail it everytime.
Thanks Sheron. Sounds like you’ve been there before!
Thank you. Modesty seemed to go out of “style” with the onslought of modern TV.
It’s the nasty reality shows that have taken it to a new (lower) level in recent years!
All I can say is AMEN!!!
Umm-Hmmm!
I can’t stop laughing!!!! You do know how to tell a story, and I know it’s true, You just described my new first swim suit picked off the rack by me! I just bet you were a little spitfire. Tell your moms to be proud, she did her job, really well. I am proud of my momma too 🙂
Glad to know I wasn’t alone in making bad choices!
Amen Leslie Anne, I can’t imagine what it’s like raising a teenager these days, I recently heard that somewhere in the US they were actually going to give birth control to 10 year olds! Horrifying!
Seriously? Is it to give to their dolls?
Dang. This world is crazy!
When my granddaughter asked for a swimsuit for her birthday, I chickened out. First, I couldn’t find one that covered her knees and elbows and second, I knew that only her mother would be brave enough to handle the uprising if she chose one that took a quarter of a yard of fabric. My daughter-in-law is a brave soul.
Good call. I’d hand it over to the daughter-in-law as well!
Amen!!! When I see some of the skimpy suits I think, “Why bother wearing anything?!”
There’s a thin line between flimsy fabric and jail. Glad I don’t have to make the call.
I’m going to respectfully disagree. If you are trying to teach your sons to respect women, I think your stance sends the opposite message. You should be teaching then that they should respect women regardless of what they are wearing. Your stance teaches that men can’t be trusted to respect women if they are wearing a skimpy bathing suit, and that women and girls should be ashamed of their bodies. Were the boys at this swim party shirtless? I guessing there was little concern about how much skin the boys at this party were showing. Rather than publicly shaming these girls in an editorial in the Birmingham news maybe you should question why you were so concerned about this in the first place. If you say you are concerned for your sons because you want them to respect women, the lesson should be directed at your sons, not the girls.
Hi Sara,
First of all, thank you for being so nice. I don’t mind people disagreeing with me at all as long as it’s a civil conversation. You make some interesting points, but I guess I was going toward the mother/daughter side of the issue since that’s what I remember most from my teen experience. It’s not so much the boys impression of the girls, but the girl’s impressions of themselves that matter. Never would I try to shame the girls. The parents are the ones who are ultimately responsible.