Bathing Suits Of Choice

It was exciting today to hear the news that Kansas voters affirmed a woman’s right to choose. In the first election test after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the voters of conservative Kansas decided against removing the right to abortion from the State Constitution. Most Americans do not want to see restrictions that a small minority of religious zealouts want to impose. If Democrats can be smart about state legislation and races, we might be able to strike down or prevent, as Nancy Pelosi says, “anti-women” legislation. Be sure to vote.

Since it’s summer in my neck of the woods, I drew a cartoon about bathing suits in my batch this week for The New Yorker. I can’t show it to you until the magazine rejects it, so in the meantime, here’s another one. I found this in a folder yesterday, it’s from a long time ago. I love fashion and love making fun of it.

My parents got Life Magazine when I was growing up and I recall one issue where there was a story on the last page of the magazine about the new thing in swimwear for women: topless. As a pre-teen, I was horrified. Is this what I have to do when I grow up? Luckily for me, the “fad” never caught on. I am sure many others were horrified about what Seventh Avenue was trying to pull over on us (or step into), but some were probably enthused about the idea (the US is certainly not Europe in that regard, such a thing would not fly in our puritanical culture). I was a shy kid, and this sort of thing would have completely put me over the edge. Hippies were scary enough, although I was grateful for the peace and love and modicum of cultural “freedom” the sixties brought us. And very appreciative of the freedom of 1973 that brought us Roe V. Wade.

Ensure us the freedom to wear whatever we want on our bodies, be it topless or sixteen piece swimwear, and let us take care of our body’s health the way we want. It’s American to do so.

Trust women.