Editing Bikini (section)

== Body ideals ==
{{See also|Body image|Bikini contest}}
[[File:Elle Macpherson Intimates Gentle Jade.jpg|thumb|right|Six-time [[Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue]] cover model [[Elle Macpherson]],<ref name=AgeL /> nicknamed "The Body" by ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'',<ref name="kugelmacpherson">{{cite news|title=Elle Macpherson: Unabashed Passion, Ageless Beauty & Creating the Next Fashion Star|first=Allison|last=Kugel|author-link=Allison Kugel|url=http://www.pr.com/article/1195|publisher=PR.com|date=December 20, 2011|access-date=March 12, 2012}}</ref> epitomized the bikini body ideal (''Note this is not an image of Elle McPherson, but seems to be a photo of one of her lingerie products'') <ref>Christine Schmidt, ''The Swimsuit: Fashion from Poolside to Catwalk'', pages 19, 49–51, Bloomsbury Academic, 2012, {{ISBN|978-0-85785-123-9}}</ref><ref>Nicola Yelland, ''Gender in Early Childhood'', page 67, Routledge, 2002, {{ISBN|978-1-134-73518-1}}</ref>]]

In 1950, American swimsuit mogul Fred Cole, owner of Cole of California, told ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' that bikinis were designed for "diminutive Gallic women", as because "French girls have short legs... swimsuits have to be hiked up at the sides to make their legs look longer."<ref name=heritage /> In 1961, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported the opinion that the bikini is permissible for people who are not "too fat or too thin".<ref>Claudia Mitchell, Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, ''Girl Culture: Studying girl culture : a readers' guide'', page 183, ABC-CLIO, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-313-33909-7}}</ref> In the 1960s etiquette writer [[Emily Post]] decreed that "[A bikini] is for perfect figures only, and for the very young."<ref name=Slate>{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Julia|title=A Brief History of the Bikini: How the tiny swimsuit conquered America|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/fashion/2006/07/a_brief_history_of_the_bikini.html|work=Slate|access-date=August 15, 2013|date=May 31, 2011}}</ref> In ''The Bikini Book'' by [[Kelly Killoren Bensimon]], swimwear designer [[Norma Kamali]] says, "Anyone with a tummy" should not wear a bikini.<ref name=Slate /> Since then, a number of bikini designers including Malia Mills have encouraged women of all ages and body types to take up the style.<ref>Charlotte Williamson and Maggie Davis, ''101 Things to Buy Before You Die'', page 14, New Holland Publishers, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-84537-885-1}}</ref> The 1970s saw the rise of the [[The Thin Ideal|lean ideal]] of female body and figures like [[Cheryl Tiegs]]. Her figure remained in vogue in the 21st century.<ref>Don Johnson, ''Body: Recovering Our Sensual Wisdom'', page 102, North Atlantic Books, 1992, {{ISBN|978-1-55643-144-9}}</ref>

The fitness boom of the 1980s led to one of the biggest leaps in the evolution of the bikini. According to Mills, "The leg line became superhigh, the front was superlow, and the straps were superthin."<ref>[http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/2006/The-Bikini.html The Bikini turns 60! from the Lilith Gallery of Toronto] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909175233/http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/2006/The-Bikini.html |date=September 9, 2016}}. Retrieved February 9, 2009.</ref> Women's magazines used terms like "Bikini Belly",<ref>Alex Kuczynski, "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEEDB1E3EF937A15755C0A9679C8B63 Looking for Health News? A Bikini Belly? There's More to Read]", ''The New York Times'', June 21, 2001</ref> and workout programs were launched to develop a "bikini-worthy body".<ref>Jennifer Nicole Lee, "[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/get-a-bikini-worthy-body-12-02-2007/ Get A Bikini-Worthy Body] ", CBS News, Feb 1, February 1, 2007</ref> The tiny "fitness-bikinis" made of [[lycra]] were launched to cater to this hardbodied ideal.<ref>Stuart B. Chirls, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20121023042306/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7827637.html Americans head for the water – in, on and under]", ''Daily News Record'', July 31, 1989</ref> Movies like ''[[Blue Crush]]'' and TV [[reality show]]s like ''[[Surf Girls]]'' merged the concepts of bikini models and athletes together, further accentuating the toned body ideal.<ref name=GCulture>Claudia Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9PRoPX3DIwgC&q=Jacques+Heim+bikini+july&pg=PA182 Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia]'' (Vol. 1), page 183, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-313-08444-7}}</ref> Motivated by yearly [[Spring Break]] festivities that mark the start of the bikini season in North America,<ref>Jacklyn Zeman, ''Jackie Zeman's Beauty on the Go'', page 70, Simon & Schuster, 1986, {{ISBN|978-0-671-54326-6}}</ref> many women diet in an attempt to achieve the ideal bikini body; some take this to extremes including self-starvation, leading to [[eating disorders]].<ref name=GCulture />

In 1993, [[Suzy Menkes]], then Fashion Editor of the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', suggested that women had begun to "revolt" against the "body ideal" and bikini "exposure." She wrote, "Significantly, on the beaches as on the streets, some of the youngest and prettiest women (who were once the only ones who dared to bare) seem to have decided that exposure is over."<ref name="menkes" /> Nevertheless, former professional beach volleyball player [[Gabrielle Reece]], who competed in a bikini, claimed that "confidence" alone can make a bikini sexy.<ref name=Slate /> One survey commissioned by Diet Chef, a UK home delivery service, reported by ''The [[Today (U.S. TV program)|Today Show]]'' and ridiculed by ''[[More (magazine)|More]]'' magazine, showed that women should stop wearing bikinis by the age of 47.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stop wearing bikinis after 47? Survey finds age a factor in fashion|url=http://discuss.today.com/_news/2011/05/13/6636106-stop-wearing-bikinis-after-47-survey-finds-age-a-factor-in-fashion|publisher=Today.com|access-date=August 15, 2013|date=May 13, 2011|archive-date=November 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102114023/http://discuss.today.com/_news/2011/05/13/6636106-stop-wearing-bikinis-after-47-survey-finds-age-a-factor-in-fashion|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Lesley Kennedy, "[http://www.more.com/fashion-age-limit-survey Are You Too Old to Rock a Bikini?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222195121/http://www.more.com/fashion-age-limit-survey |date=February 22, 2014}}", ''More'', March 13, 2011</ref>