ASSets and Academias

Ideas for blog posts usually pop into my head when I’m on my way to work. Sometimes I spot something going on and decide to do some investigation, other times the subject of the post actually gets on the bus and takes the seat in front of me. There have been occasions when a little undercover filming/photography was required and at those time I fearlessly pursue the image in order to present it to you, my dear readers.

Well a combination of these things came together recently and allows me to finally write about something I’ve had on my list for a long time. Carioca women have a very distinctive style when they’re going to/from the academia (gym). Like I said, I’ve been wanting to write about this for ages, but I had one big problem – images!

Put yourself in my shoes – if I want to tell you about this then I really need to be able to show you what I’m talking about. “Fine,” you say, “so go to a gym and take a few photos”. This is where we get to the problem. Hanging around outside a gym, taking photos of women doesn’t look good does it? I played with the idea of approaching some gym-goers and explaining why I needed a photo, but again, it just sounds a bit weird doesn’t it?

And so the idea hit a stumbling block. Until a few days ago when I was walking to the Metro station and a girl came out of a door in full gym gear and strode briskly down the street just a few metres in front of me. I realised that this was my chance to whip my phone out and take my chance.

Before we get to the photo, I should explain why I thought this subject was noteworthy. Girls on their way to the gym wear lycra style leggings but with crazy thick socks pulled right up to their knees! Often there is some kind of loud pattern going on and the whole thing looks very retro-groovy to my eyes. First time I saw it I thought “Wow, that girl is rocking some pretty outrageous gym fashion”, but before long I realised that it is pretty much standard gym attire for the ladies of Rio.

So, back to that girl. As she walked purposefully down the road, she stopped to check her hair in a car window, then paused again to check herself out full-length in a shop window. As I got my phone out I realised that I was still going to look like an absolute pervert as I took the photo, but I pushed through my shame barriers and managed to get the shot.

Listen people, I didn't enjoy taking this photo, this is not (repeat NOT) gratuitous perving for perving's sake. I felt you all needed to see this so you can learn about one more facet of life in Rio. See? This is educational (doth I protest too much?).

It’s not a bad look is it? To be fair, not all exponents of this style pull it off with quite so much aplomb, but hey-ho, we can’t all be models can we?

We’ve spoken about the difference in what is considered ‘ideal’ size of bunda (bottom) before haven’t we? Well isn’t that illustrated well here? It seems to me that the design of this girl’s shorts is actually meant to accentuate bottom size! Every British male over the age of 10 knows that there is only one correct answer to the eternal question “Does my bum look big in this?” – in Brazil it ain’t that simple!

You wouldn't sell many clothes in England with the slogan "makes your bum look bigger".