Skimpy hotties, wrinkly oldies and everything inbetween
The ‘ideal’ body is a very subjective thing. Where one guy sees a complete hotty, someone else takes one look and says “she needs to eat a sandwich“. Some women like their guys a little on the tubby side (for these women I am thankful), others prefer the chiselled abdominizer model. And of course there are men and women who are into men and women respectively. Well whatever you’re into, you’ll see it on the beach in Rio. And they won’t leave much to the imagination!
Regardless of body-shape or age, Brazilian women prefer a very skimpy cut to their bikinis – both top and bottom. When the film Rio came out here, there was quite a big fuss that the derrière in the trailer was wearing a very conservative bikini:
Seriously, there were articles in the newspaper about this split-second shot and how it wasn’t an accurate representation of Carioca beachwear because it wasn’t revealing enough!
And it’s not just the ladies. Preferred attire for guys at the beach is a very tight, very small pair of shorts know as a sunga.
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| Yep, not much left to the imagination here… |
But of course, not everyone looks like they’ve just stepped out of a magazine. There are some very tanned and wrinkly old guys who wander around in extremely skimpy sungas. And not just on the beach – these old fellows will think nothing of wandering home like that, even popping into a little shop to pick up some groceries. It can be quite a shock the first time you round a corner to be confronted with a whole lot of wrinkly man flesh as an old guy bends down to pick something from a low shelf.
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So yes, at times it can be a visual version of “too much information”, but I find the lack of self-consciousness rather nice. People of all shapes and sizes mix together, wearing next to nothing, without any apparent awkwardness. Of course, I’m sure there are people with body image issues and I guess I just don’t see them at the beach, but I really get the impression that it isn’t quite so much a big deal here.
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| Many thanks to Julio Aguiar for his brilliant shots of real people at the beach. Check out his Flickr photostream here |
There is a misconception that flaunting things as they are is always positive. This ails Rio's beaches and other visual mediums as well, like reality tv.
Is unabashed honesty regarding body, your personal life and so many other subjects always a good thing? It may be if you keep it to yourself and do something about it but putting it out there on a shelf does not seem to be part of that process. If you are a lard ass then don't cripple my eyes and don't hide behind a relativistic argument using a Salvador Dali portrait as centerpiece to claim "my forms are just as valid". No, they are not, you are not a painting. I can spot your flab from a mile away and can see waves traveling thru it as you motion to devour yet another corn on the cob.
Bleargh.
This goes for those who are not aesthetically challenged as well. Do the hotties really need to wear such skimpy outfits? It makes the fat chicks feel bad and gets the men all riled up. I don't want to hear a detailed account of what could be done to that woman from a complete stranger nearby wearing a speedo, with his turn signal on. Oh lord!
It is all so wrong.
People mock the Puritans but perhaps there is some value to the heritage they left behind in American culture for instance. I know there is hypocrisy in it but so what? I can deal with the hipocrisy, it's the ugliness that kills me.
Wow! I don't agree at all. Sure, I found the uber-skimpy bikinis and sungas pretty extreme compared to what I was used to, but I got over it in about a minute. When the weather is hot, the beach is a great place to cool off whether you're obese, anorexic or anywhere in between. And it's hard to cool off on the beach in jeans and t-shirt.
So some people look weird, out of the ordinary
or don't fit the 'ideal', but your point about people's "unabashed honesty" about their bodies, suggests that you think people should be so ashamed of imperfections that they cover up or stay away from the beach entirely. What about amputees – are they allowed on the beach?
I think it reflects well on Rio that fatties aren't ridiculed and made to feel like shit for the way they look. I wonder how many people with body image issues in other countries are missing out because others take offence at their appearance. What a depressing thought.
Seriously, the Puritans were so 16-17th century…
Humn, interesting points.
I wouldn't say one should go all Taliban when dressing for the beach yet a speedo and/or anything else that is small will leave a person looking like an item that has been wrapped way to tight resulting in body fat (flab) hanging from your body. In avoiding this the person not only looks better but helps create a nicer visual surrounding for those around him/her and perhaps this is what really bothers me in the end: people don't care about making a better ambiance for all if it curtails their desires in any form. So it isn't really that I am offended by fatties, or am a prude when hotties dress in such a revelaing matter, but that the fattie does not care if tight outfit + her body shape = flab for others to see, nor does the hottie care about sexually riling up dudes in a setting that is public and hence not suited for that (not because it's wrong but because it's the wrong place). The truth is a woman feels good when she is being observed since it validates her appearance, no problem, but can't she sometimes understand that she should give that up in certain seetings because the consequences are not suited for that particular place?
So you see it isn't that I am for picking on people due to the way they look but that people, regardless of the way they look, do whatever suits them best. In the end it is the same mindset which leads fat and skinny, white and black, rich and poor to park wherever they please as long as it make it easier for them to transport their armchairs and umbrellas to the sand even if this means their vehicle is endangering traffic or impeding a properly parked vehicle form leaving later on.
Sure, being selfish and prioritising your own whims above the needs and rights of others is bad.
But for me, this doesn't translate to beachwear. No one likes a selfish person parking their car in a dangerous/inconvenient location. But the question of what constitutes an acceptable amount of flesh on show, or what constitutes an attractive body, is subjective; a matter of aesthetics. Some like 'em big, some like 'em skinny. So what one person sees as a flabby monster who should be more considerate by covering up so as not to offend 'people' might not offend a whole bunch of other people at all!
Aaanyway, sounds like what makes me happy to be living in Rio, makes you happy NOT to be living here. So all's well.
Great post, Tom! To be honest, I love this about Brazil. It’s a respect and admiration for all body shapes and sizes that Brazilians have that I wish Americans had. People can wear what they want, regardless of size, and feel comfortable here. I don’t really feel that freedom in the U.S. People are way more sensitive and aware of their body issues there than here. My mother would not be caught dead in a one piece swimming suit (she is NOT fat) while my MIL wears a bikini (they have almost the exact same body size and shape). Not everyone in the world has the same genes so unfortunately, not everyone is a “hottie”. Not being a “hottie” or not having rock hard abs should not mean that I can’t flaunt what I got. Because, luckily for me and everyone else, not everyone likes the same thing (or the world would be pretty boring and we’d stop procreating :). What bothers one person might turn another person on. Stick thin girls aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and Mr. Rock hard abs douche bag meat head isn’t either (hint hint, I’m not really a fan of this body type).
Thanks Susan – I’m with you 100%!
Personally I like food way too much to be thin. Sometimes I’m a bit pudgy, other times I trim down a a little, but I don’t want to feel ashamed of how I look in either state. Not everyone signs up to the same definition of hottie anyway and I’m pleased that although Brazilians (particularly Cariocas) are often accused of being image obsessed, people seem to just get on with things at the beach without being judgemental. I guess when there’s that much flesh on show, after a while everyone becomes desensitised! :)
Wow, I’m late :P