T & A (Tits & Activism)

This is definitely Sam Hoopes’s best year. The whole 80s vibe seems to suit her. There are a few photos that could be flashbacks to the pages of the mid-80s.

But she also has this photo, which I think encapsulates a lot of the weirdness about the swimsuit issue tackling deeper issues than swimsuits.

Her t-shirt has what is meant to be a brash, feminist message. It addresses a puritanical attitude toward women’s bodies, something that manifests itself in everything from double standards in beachwear to dress codes for female students to public breastfeeding controversies.

But here? In the swimsuit issue?

The answer is “no.” Sam, your nipples do not offend me.

In 2014, after a long and airbrushed hiatus, nipples came poking into view again like buds reemerging after a long winter. We celebrate wet, sheer tops in these pages.

As far as wet t-shirt activism goes, Nina Agdal sported this number last year.

Nina’s message finds a much surer purchase on the breasts of a swimsuit model. It addresses the flak that a lot of models and actresses get when they speak up, this screwed-up morality that dictates that you can’t complain about sexual harassment because you did a sex scene in a movie once.

This segment from Aly Raisman’s Twitter account scratches the surface.

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I think the nudes are pretty beautiful. There are a couple women whom I’d rather see in bikinis, personally. (Most of the “In Her Own Words” girls didn't do swimsuits.) Olivia Culpo is one such rookie I’d like to see in a more traditional shoot.

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Still swimming my way through the photos. (Barbara Palvin, wow.)