Skimpy suit patrols? Readers are ready to enlist

Update: Pinellas County had initially said it would hold a public hearing on toughening swimsuit rules for Fort De Soto Park in March, but it looks like the hearing won't be until June or July.

St. Petersburg Times reporter Will Van Sant says the commissioners wanted to work on some other parts of the ordinance -- not involving swimsuit rules --  before bringing the entire package forward.

 

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Pinellas County may toughen its swimwear rules in response to outraged Fort De Soto Park visitors who have stumbled across men and women on the beach in states of near total nudity.

Join our Beach Patrol: Send your photos of the good, the bad, the ugly you've spotted on the beach. E-mail them to submit@tampabay.com; make sure to include your name and some info about the photo.

Tampabay.com readers have responded, some outraged that the county would devote resources monitoring skimpy suits during a time of economic crisis. "The entire U.S. economy is going up in flames but the Pinellas County Commission will still have enough tax money to pay for swim suit police. Go figure," Steve wrote.

"So where do people sign up to measure the amount of bathing suit covering a butt?" another reader asked.

Others responded with humorous quips.

Cast your vote: Which reader comment do you agree with?
The last thing we need to see at Fort DeSoto: Skimpy swimsuits.
Try getting the roads fixed, synching up the traffic lights, and getting rid of the homeless first.
There should be a committee comprised of male college students to determine who may wear thongs and g-strings.
We don't need beach nannies.

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Photo by Luis Santana | tbt*, 2007

Comments

[tourist]

Sorry, Pinellas county, you've already lost a whole bunch of tourists. Most tourists know that Florida (except Miami and Key West) can be very uptight about things like bikinis and speedos. So the tourists are going to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Although reportedly the Americans are starting to crowd out the Europeans in the DR, so the Europeans are starting to head elsewhere. Why would any Australian, French, German, etc. girl (or guy) vacation in Florida when they would have to explain the funny tanlines when they get home?

[bikini wearing man]

I enjoy wearing my bikini on the beach. Just because im a guy i should go to jail for it? I dont parade around showing my goods as was said earlier. It gets very hot and the skimpier the swimsuit the more comfortable it is.

[Bill]

Have family in Pinellas County so must go there to visit 4-5 times per year. One day we will have two properties in Pinellas and they will be for sale. Wouldn't consider moving to such a narrow minded community. We and many others might consider spending our time and money there if there were clothing optional beaches as well as tolerance for skimpy bathing suits.

[FED UP]

Wow, Freedom is just deminishing in America. I think all conservitives and puritans need to be given their own state and leave everyone else alone. They really make life unenjoyable. If people want to wear a thong or be nude on the beach they should be able to. Most likely they dont want all of the stupid tan lines and quite frankly the beach is a much nicer place to tan than in a backyard. All of these stupid laws and trying to make people conservative and prudes just makes living here not enjoyable. Kids shouldn't grow up thinking bad about human bodys. heck, we are born naked! Not saying we should be able to go shopping or go to work in the nude (it would be mighty cold) but if a nudie is seen it should definitely not be frowned apon or considered disgusting. Even if it isn't the hottest body, we are all human.

[Stud]

I recently visited a local Pinellas county State Park Beach wearing a Speedo. I was harassed by the swimsuit police who asked the rhetorical question if I thought my swimsuit was appropriate for a family beach. My reply was that I am athletic do a lot of swimming and am comfortable with my body and the swimsuit I was wearing. I also mentioned that I was aware of the Pinellas thong law and that that this was a Speedo and NOT a thong. I was then informed that the cloth must cover the nates and again the question was put back on ME! I got irritated and said that Clearwater hosts the Ironman World Championships and that Many of the world class athletes invited to the event wear Speedo's! I feel that this new law may leave too much lee way for officers interpretation. Obviously their own personal feelings and predispositions are going to have a huge effect on how the law is going to be enforced.

[Jerry H]

Two weeks ago, my wife and I, plus our two still-at-home kids, had a one week vacation in Pinellas County, and spent about $2,000 there, plus another $500 in Tampa. When I add in the Delta airfare, and the expense of getting to and from the airport, it was a nearly $5,000 vacation.

When I read this story on tampabay.com, I was livid and began to wonder if I have been spending time and money in the wrong place. You see, we had also vacationed in Pinellas last July.

Even if Pinellas County created a clothing optional portion of DeSoto (and they really should), I would still object to their giving in, at all county beaches, to the Puritan fundamentalists who, along with the Taliban, feel that everyone should conform to their prudish exclusivity in bathing suits.

If they want to form a Puritans/Taliban-only section, for those who are afraid their kids might see the curve of a buttock, or more than a 1/4 inch of the side of a breast, well that would be an acceptable alternative.

Of course that would have to mean that they could not come onto the normal folks section, and that the normal folks could not go onto the Puritans/Taliban-only section, so nobody would get their proverbial nose bent out of shape.

Where would it end?

The fascinating thing about all of this is that kids, unless they are taught differently, think nothing of how other people dress, or don't dress.

I remember, when my oldest daughter was seven or eight, when we accidentally took the wrong ferry to a barrier beach island. There was an extended family next to us, with two kids, husband and wife, and grandma and grandpa. When a nude woman walked by the kids paid it no mind, and kept playing, and the grandparents gave it scarcely any thought, but the husband and wife had a very different reaction.

The people of Germany and France, and probably Scandinavia, have the right attitude about all of this.

Big deal; who cares?

And that's the way it should be in Pinellas County, too.

[Bill]

There are several hundred miles of coastline on the west side of Florida. Within that vast area there is a stretch of less than half a mile where those who enjoy wearing thongs my do so legally without harassment. Why do the people who disapprove of this insist upon imposing their opinions upon 100% of the coastline? Who made them the arbitrators of morality? I believe that a small portion of Fort DeSoto beach should be reserved for those who wish to wear thongs. Those who don’t wish see them need not come into that area. There are seven miles of beach at Fort. Why can’t less than half a mile be set aside for a minority of people who are not hurting anyone?

There are many clothing optional beaches at Caribbean resorts which earn millions of dollars per year for their owners. In the same vain I’ve met people from all over the world who regularly come to the St. Pete area to enjoy the freedoms of Ft. DeSoto. Those tourist dollars will go elsewhere if the political leadership of St. Petersburg bows to the demands of a group of intolerant people who wish to impose their will upon everyone else by using the power of the state.

[TC]

Super! lets keep on teaching our kids that the human body is nasty and dirty! WOW Lets take a lesson from the Europeans, some people will never get over the puritan way of thinking I guess! Too bad for them because either the skimpy suited people are great to look at, beautiful or they are hysterical to look at! either way I want them to stay!

[Jim]

I think this is ridiculous, as someone else said if you don't want to see it, turn your head, nudity is part of being human.Spend the money on things that matters.

[Sher]

It's another silly idea to try to make a regulation on swimwear. We are a tourism state which attracts many visitors from other places because of our great beaches and our abundants of fair weather and sunshine. When your not use to sunshine you want to absorb all you can, you spend money to get here and if you want to spend that week in a skimpy bathing suit go for it !

[debbie]

I lived in St Pete all my life. 50 years and counting. I cant believe something like this is even an issue when we have people jobless, losing their houses etc. Grow up Pinellas County. People will avoid Florida. These things are few and far between. Just think, we will have to hire butt police and then we will have more people working. SARCASM.

[Vince]

damn I miss the beaches of the gulf coast..caught some of my biggest fish in the tierra verde/ft desoto area-but thats not the only reason I miss it there.oh well the things you do for your kids

[Jacques and Georgiana]

My friend and I went to North Beach one time. It was almost at dusk and we both stripped completely naked and walked out onto the beach and into the water and swam around, then walked back and got into our car and put our clothes back on. NO one said a single word to us and there were people everywhere. Maybe nudity is more accepted than most of you think.

Being nude is not a crime, but rich stock brokers stealing billions of "bail out" dollars to go on a $500k vacation while unfortunate people lost thousands of their hard earned dollars IS A CRIME! Let's focus on the real issues PEOPLE!!

[Concerned Male]

As a local avid beach goer for the last 25 years I find this the most ludicrous thing to have a law created for. I will support people who want to wear a thong because this is something that would become a double edged sword. As the overwhelming poll shows this is just an outrageous idea to police something that some uptight disapproves of. As mentioned there are 7 miles of beach, Move on down the beach or go drown yourself. What is next after if this were to pass?? No beach radio, umbrellas, sandcastles???

[James]

The banning of thong swimsuits in the area will certainly convince me to spend my vacation time and money in another county. My wife and I recently visited and had a great time. I wore my thong swimsuit to the beach each day. We spent time amongst the other beach goers. Everyone treated me as normally as anyone else. And why not? They had nothing to "fear". I guess this issue just validates the concept of "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".

[suzanne]

I would like to see "beer bellies" outlawed. Now thats gross!

[A Concerned Citizen]

Unbelievable. Men can open homo sex on 4th street north in the mangroves, and the county does NOTHING about that? No one should worry. It's probably another law that won't even be enforced.

[D May]

Pass the ordinance and I will simply go somewhere else to spend my money. Be intelligent and set aside an area for clothing optional use. The people who use it would go there specifically. They are also people who have the money to come to that specific area such as Haulover in Miami. It could certainly lend an economic a boost for this area. Age has nothing to do with stupidity, I say to older residents who are so worried about a bit of exposed flesh. If you want their money, give people a reason to come and spend it. I am sure non naturists could find somewhere else to go in the other say, six miles of beach.

[fort desoto sun lover]

I have been to Fort Desoto many times. I have not seen anyone being disrespectful of others by showing off their buns. The people in tee backs stay off by themselves, as far apart from the families as possible. Many of the tee back people are senior citizens from the northern states. They enjoy the beach during the winter months when the residents from Pinellas County would never set foot on the sand. I have a problem with the people that voice their negative opinions but never go to the beach. Maybe its time for the uninformed people to take the plunge.

[Dan]

I cannot believe in these times of economic stress we are going to waste time and money on this issue.

Let's work to improve our roads, schools and maybe even teach people in Florida to use their turn signals and buckle up.

I've visited Fort DeSoto on many occasions and what people wear(or don't wear ) is not the issue. The real issue is our attitude in America about the human body. Our overworked servants in Pinelas County have better things to do with their time than be "butt police".

Any Commisioner that votes to spend taxpayer money on this proposal should be voted out of office.

[JamesM]

D Adams, the former Californian, has missed the point. We are not talking about nudity in the county parks. This is already banned. We are talking about a proposed new law that redefines nudity so that people wearing thong swimsuits, and a lot of rio backed swim bikinis will now be considered to be nude and prosecuted as criminals.

Read the proposed new law before you make un-educated comments.

The new law defines people who are wearing swimsuits smaller than a certan size to be nude, and provides for criminal prosocution for wearing a small swimsuit.

The language of the proposed law is obsucre and vague with a rather strange definition involving nates, buttocks and curvature.

People who's swimsuits were found not to be in compliance of the new law would be prosecuted with the same penalties as a flasher in the mall.

Fort De Soto has 7 miles of beach. If you don't like to see a women or man in a thong swimsuit, pickup and move down the beach a bit. Or just go to one of the beaches where thongs are not allowed.

We don't need a clothing optional beach, although one may be nice, we just need the prudes to go to one of the beaches in the county where thongs
are already banned.

The county has better things to do than to ban thong swimsuits on one of the few bits of beach where they are allowed.

We have had enough of the self-righteous Christian Taliban making telling us how to dress and attempting to make criminals out of people, just becuase their swimsuits do not meet their approval.

What next, mandatory hair scarves and dresses as long as the Mormons?

YES AS A TAXPAYING PERSON IN PINELLAS
COUNTY I FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD MAKE THE NUDISTS DISPLAY THIER BODIES IN A SPECIFIC PLACE--LIKE AT HOME OR A NUDIST COLONY. IT IS EMBARRASING TO GO
TO SOME OF THE BEACHES. MAKE EM COVER
IT.

[TC]

There probably shouldn't be any nudity or close to nudity at Ft. DeSoto...This is America and we are sexually uptight, why change now! LOL Lets all keep that attitude so our kids will know that the human body is dirty and shouldn't be seen...
(insert sarcasm here)

[Karen McAllister]

D. Adams, a former Californian, shares this comment via e-mail: "...If the good people of Pinellas county do not put their foot down and set some guidelines the beaches here will no longer will family friendly. I used to go up to the Euros visiting our small but popular beach town in CA and remind them that nakedness was inappropriate for family beaches. These people who feel the need to parade their goods should purchase beachfront property and fence off access so they don't offend others. No one wants to look at someone's junk hanging out. We did have a nude beach near us in CA and everyone was glad when the Sheriff's dept cracked down on it because it brought a lot of undesirables to the area. There were many arrests of men in the bushes overlooking that beach for indecent exposure and worse. It attracted a bad element and made it unsafe for kids. I hope Pinellas county reacts with a resounding NO to minimal bathing suits at public beaches."

[Pete]

Why not set aside an area of Fort DeSoto Park as "clothing optional." Serious nudists tend to be self policing and don't don't tolerate gawkers.

With adequate signage, those who don't want to encounter nudity on the beach or "skimpy bathing suits" can easily stay away same as people who don't want to encounter dogs on the beach stay away from the doggie beach.

It's a sensible and peaceful solution that wouldn't expend precious county resources at a time when what's available is being stretched thin anyway.