The Change Mariner

Smaller Bikinis, More Muscle and Empowerment

New York Times

... In movies like "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," and television series like "Boarding House: North Shore" on WB and "Surf Girls" on MTV, the tiny, triangle-topped bikini is the millennial equivalent of the power suit — the costume for women who ride 20-foot waves or smash the foreheads of evildoers, thus proving they are just as combative as men.

The shifting cultural meaning of the two-piece bathing suit has not escaped manufacturers. At a trade show in Miami this week, Speedo will introduce a string bikini for the first time in its 75 years. Speedo, which has primarily been known for austere-looking tank suits for women who spend hours perfecting their butterfly stroke, has typically aimed its suits at adults. But its string bikini will be pitched mainly at teenagers.

"People are wanting skimpier cuts than they ever have before," said Craig Brommers, Speedo's vice president for marketing. "At the same time, more girls are active in sports than they ever have been before, and for them wearing a bikini is an issue of empowerment in the sense of `here is my body — it is strong and fit.' There is so much more at issue here than merely `sexiness.' "