THE LATEST DISCUSSION locally has been the occurrence of a Wet T shirt competition which took place recently at an event.
Some young women, all over 18 and appearing sober, entered the competition and took it to another level by showing their breasts to the crowd.
A winner was announced and a prize given.
The following days have been spent with many debating and discussing the actions of the young women, the promoters and the patrons of the event.
Similar to how weed brownies are being classified as a “growing trend”, I chuckled at those who stated their disappointment at these competitions “entering the social scene of Barbados”.
Like weed brownies, Wet T shirt competitions have been around the block for more than a decade. Many of us are too out of touch.
While I do believe that the young women knew the full consequences of their actions and if it were my sister I would be quite disappointed, I also believe that our society has and continues to fail some of our young women.
However, this is not an excuse.
If you are showing your breasts to hundreds of people at a fete, be prepared for the backlash.
I do not care what adults dowith their bodies as long as they do not harm other human beings. This is my view on this local debate and on the back and forth Piers Morgan has with Kim Kardashian on Twitter. Morgan has declared feminism dead and has tweeted that he finds feminism to be “too vital a cause to be abused by nude, bird-flipping selfies”.
One person approached me about a statement I made saying that our generation glorifies celebrities who pose naked but what about the young Bajan women who do the same in a fete?
What is the difference?
Do fame and money give a pass? Have we as a society become so accustomed to moral flip-flopping that we view certain actions to be “cool” for people of means but “disgusting” for people who are not? If you find it wrong, you should find it wrong on all counts. That kind of hypocrisy baffles me.
We are living in an era when the lifestyles of strippers, escorts and such are heavily glorified and glamourised. Their appearances on mainstream reality tv and their social media followings of millions of millennials is proof of this. Many of these women cite entering these career paths after having no other way to support their families. I want to caution young girls some of you who come from homes and backgrounds where you typically do not and would not be expected to emulate this behaviour. Some of you do not need to show your breasts for a voucher.
However, if you choose to, and that is another column and discussion to be addressed, do not be so delusional as to think that the reaction Barbadians will have to celebrities will be the same reaction they will have towards you. They will not.
In the many videos making the rounds, I saw nobody “booing”.
The same people who applaud at your coronation, will applaud at your beheading. I am not here to tell you to never show your breasts again, I am here to tell you to be fully cognisant of your actions next time.
If you are now embarrassed, know this: Bajans love a story and an opportunity to “pull down”.
Yesterday, it was Mrs Dolittle. Today, it is you. Tomorrow, it is Perlie. You can move beyond this.
Toni Thorne is a young entrepreneur and World Economic Forum Global Shaper who loves global youth culture, a great debate and living in paradise. Email: Tonithorne@hotmail.com