Get your butt off Copacabana!

Bikini, Rio, beaches (March 31, 2006)

Rio de Janeiro no longer a haven for bunda
In an absurd, but valiant attempt to disassociate the Brazilian backside from Rio de Janeiro (specifically the near-naked female derriere so ubiquitous along Brazil’s coastline), city authorities voted to prohibit the sale of postcards that are endowed with portraits of this particular Brazilian national treasure. Yes, postcards have been identified as the culprits. Authorities feel that postcards featuring sexy, scantily-clad Brazilians only encourage the association of sexual tourism with Rio “…which stigmatizes us with undignified labels,” suggests state secretary Sergio Ricardo. Of course, one need only cast one’s eyes to the sandy beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to find an endless variety of sand-sprinkled lower halves, fanning across the sand like dunes along the waterfront. Reality is so much more interesting than postcards, anyway. But could bikinis themselves be the next target of censorship for Rio de Janeiro?

Without a doubt, sexual tourism is a problem in Rio, as it is in many of Brazil’s coastal cities. It contributes to the country’s astronomical HIV/AIDS statistics and adds a number of other problems to boot–problems that need to be addressed. But it’s probably not the public relations effort from the postcard-buying public that is to blame–or the fact that so much moon shines along with the sun at Copacabana. No, sexual tourism is the result of neither promiscuity nor exhibitionism. Rather, it comes from that special mixture of poverty, democracy, and international tourism. Remove any one of these three ingredients and sexual tourism falters. Now that’s something to write home about.

Those Brazilian Bikinis…

Bikini, beaches (March 1, 2006)

New fashions offer variety, economy and a touch of self-expression
Brazil’s bikini fashions are always out in front and what’s showing on the beaches of Brazil this summer is likely to appear in the northern hemisphere this June and July. So what’s Brazil up to this year in beach fashions? Apparently, the hit of the season is a mix-and-match, combine-and-clash kind of approach. It’s floral bottoms with checkered tops and unmatched colors. It’s last year’s bottoms with that top from three years ago that no longer has a bottom to match. It’s economical, for sure, and it offers a kind of artistic self-expression. You get to demonstrate how you combine unrelated bikini parts to make a personal statement. Plus, in Brazil’s beachwear shops, it’s common to find barrels of unmatched bikini parts at blow-out prices. So you can appear on the sand with brand-new unmatched swimwear, if you like. Or buy three or four bikinis and start shuffling. When you think of it, it’s actually a lot of fun.