What kind of bees make milk? :)

Boobies! 

Get it?

Sorry not sorry for the cheesy (and maybe slightly inappropriate) joke, but it is the cleverest way I can think of to introduce the topic of the female anatomy. Namely, breasts. At the beach. They’re aaaaallllways out and about and usually it’s the older generation who goes topless. Now, I’m not saying it’s weird or gross because that would be a culturally close-minded thing to say. It’s just that it’s so different and it will never cease to amaze me how in America (relatively speaking), nudity is such a “scary” thing and here it’s no big deal if you’re naked and hangin’ out with your friends in public in the broad daylight. I mean think about it. For people my age, one way to feel “risky” is to go skinny dipping (guilty) in the dark when no one can reeaaally see you. If we really wanted to be risky we’d do it in the daylight! But see in Europe that’s not being risky at all. It’s normal. I did talk to one French girl about it and she said that she finds it vulgar, particularly with the younger generations. Because it’s just something that only older people really do, so if someone our age were to do it, it’s just weird and out of place. I think her attitude towards it is not uncommon among her age group. Which goes to show the shift in culture within the different generations. I’m hoping it’s not due to American culture (because that wouldn't surprise me) that it’s changing! I’ve always admired the Europeans’ open-minded regard on the body, even if I myself would never feel comfortable going topless at the beach… ever haha. I had a funny thought though. At the beaches in France, men and women interact normally and platonically even though a woman’s ta-tas might be out. At your average American beach, I don’t think guys of any age could handle that. Hahaha. 

On a more serious note thought, I do wonder why the younger generation is, for the most part, not as open about the actual act of going topless at the beach as the older ones. What factors are playing into that? And what historical/cultural factors play into the fact that Europeans are generally more open about the body than North Americans? 

Just food for thought!

Bises,

Katherine