Why are French women saying “non, merci” to the summer tradition of topless sun bathing?
For decades, the French have relished any opportunity to mock Americans for their supposed childish Yankee puritainisme when it comes to matters of sex. These days, though, France is experiencing its own blush of youthful prudishness as an entire generation of younger French women say “non, merci” to the summer tradition of topless sun bathingSince France’s summer vacation season kicked off in early July, the press has repeatedly sounded the alarm over the shrinking number of topless women on the nation’s beaches. As eagle-eyed reporters have made quite clear, the prevailing trend among sun-loving women these days is to actually use both pieces of their bikini. Le Monokini, C’est Fini! shouted Le Parisien in its July 21 report from a Mediterranean beach, using the preferred term for toplessness. “Nude Breasts Are Less Trendy” concurred free daily Metro France. “The fashion has become common, and as a result, less appealing,” explained sociologist Jean-Claude Kaufmann in an accompanying
