The women’s swimsuit comes in many forms and reflects our relationship to the body and place of women in our societies. This has been the subject of much controversy, which is not the case with men. Historian Audrey Millet tells us about this garment that has diminished over time.
The swimsuit actually appears at 19e only centuries, because since Antiquity, the body has been hidden and bathing is not recommended.
” The swimsuit at this time resembles sportswear. You have a top with very long sleeves and you have a bottom, pants up to below the knee. Except for the oil. […] When you go down into the water, two people must help you. “
Doctors also agree that sports, including swimming, are good for women’s bodies. It was then that Australian Annette Kellerman crossed over to the English Channel. “He decided mainly to cut the sleeve of his jersey to go faster. The performance will motivate this jersey, which is going to be smaller and smaller,” Audrey Millet said.
In fact, the swimsuit was almost born in court, as Annette Kellerman was arrested in Boston for indifference. The judge agreed with her and her judgment sets a precedent in the case of wearing women’s swimsuits.
During the interwar, women wore a two-piece swimsuit to the beach, but with high panties covering their stomachs. “They can tan and they have removed their bras.”
The scandal was born in 1946 when the navel, a symbol of motherhood, was displayed, thanks to the bikini, invented by a Swiss engineer: “She took the two-piece, a two-piece sculpts, […] but she lowers her panty. And there, we see the navel. At the same time the tests took place in Bikini Atoll, but we will say that it was not an atomic bomb, but an anatomical bomb that came to the beaches, ”Audrey Millet explains.
Despite the scandal, women are wearing bikinis, which are not knitted, but made using synthetic materials. Note that it is longer in North America.
Also on this show, Audrey Millet discusses the monokini and she explains how the swimsuit is also a political matter. “The beach has always been an encoded space,” he said.
Source: Radio-Canada
