Adorable Babies In Bikinis Are Only Creepy If You Make Them Creepy

I have to confess right off the bat that I don’t have any daughters. But if I did, you better believe I would be shopping in the baby bikini section as soon as summer came around. I personally see nothing wrong with an adorable baby or toddler girl in a bikini. But, as always, the Internet disagrees.

Some people go so far as to call a baby in a bikini ”creepy” or ”inappropriate.” To that I say, an adorable baby in a bikini is only weird if you make it weird, creep.

One blogger shares her recent experience of posting a picture of her toddler in a bikini to Facebook:

I quickly got what seemed like disapproving comments on Facebook. I was 100% confused for a minute. I hadn’t linked to Amazon or mentioned the price, so that couldn’t be the issue. Then it hit me. Is a bikini inappropriate for a little girl? Am I a bad mother for buying her one? OMG? But wait, why? Are you telling me an exposed baby tummy is somehow”¦ it pains me to say it”¦ sexual? Is that it?

Even though we all love to hate Gwyneth Paltrow, she also received criticism for selling ”naughty” baby bikinis on her website GOOP in 2013:

Now, children safety groups like Kidscape are going after Gwynnie and GOOPie, saying, “We remain very opposed to the sexualization of children and of childhood. The dangers have been discussed at length, so it is a great pity that such trends continue and that they carry celebrity endorsement.”

Here’s a real-life forum mom’s take on the subject:

I understand things are cute, but these days – what’s the cost?  Girls are becoming more and more sexual at a younger and younger age – and skirts and shorts are becoming shorter etc… why encourage it from such a young age?  I’m not saying make them wear overalls, but i agree with Edie – a tank and modest knickers i think are a good example to show the kids.

Sorry, but I don’t agree. I’m in the camp where I think it is totally fine for babies and toddlers to wear ridiculous, expensive high heels, if you decide to waste your money on them. I wouldn’t take it so far as to go Toddlers & Tiaras, and I fully endorse gender equality, but sometimes, cutesy little fashion choices really aren’t that big of a deal.

Also, it helps to put this irrational fear of showing too much skin on a baby in perspective. One mother from Australia adds, ”Here in Austria, it’s actually very common for little girls to go in just bikini bottoms, up to about age 4 or so .. but a lot of women go topless too. Nudity isn’t seen as such as big deal here. They have co-ed naked saunas, etc.”

And as Kurt Cobain responded to the concern about the naked baby on the Nevermind album cover, “If you’re offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.”

This is one controversy that can easily be put to rest. Don’t read too much into babies in bikinis. I think it’s cute, other moms may not. But there’s no way that it’s inappropriate.

(Image: B Calkins/Shutterstock)