Add some bright colourful soccer players and some feather decorated head dress and this likely completes the typical picture most foreigners have of Brazil itself.



One is left contemplating the age old "chicken or egg" dilemma as to which came first. Is the Brazilian bikini the cause or the consequence of the beauty and sexiness that exudes from Brazil, or more specifically from Brazilian women?

My authority in answering this question derives from several sources.?As co-owner of a swimwear label specialising in Brazilian bikinis, I may have some experience on the subject of Brazilian bikinis, but I probably don't get too many credibility points for objectivity.?In another role however, as a Surf Life Saver, I have spent the last 12 years patrolling Australian beaches and carefully observing (for their own swimming safety I promise) women of all shapes and sizes wearing all manner of swimwear.?It is in this capacity that I feel I have been exposed to the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to beach fashion. And finally, as the partner of a Brazilian woman I have a unique outsiders view into Brazilian culture.

Only last week while on life saving patrol I found myself discussing this question of what makes a woman in a Brazilian bikini so eye catching.?I walked in mid way though a conversation between two other female life savers as they were exchanging their own points of view on Brazilian bikinis and the women that wear them.?When I entered, the conversation had progressed to sharing a second hand story of someone they knew who had been to Brazil and described it as a land of cosmetic surgery, where it was accepted, even commonplace, for girls in their mid teens to undergo all manner of beauty enhancing procedures.

The reality I have witnessed in Brazil is quite the opposite, a poor country with people making the most out of life's simple pleasures, rather than a wealthy indulgent society obsessed with beauty.

When I shared this opinion with my two fellow lifesavers, they pointed down the beach to two girls sunning themselves in Brazilian bikinis, evidently the original stimulus for their conversation.?They had correctly identified the ladies as Brazilian, they guessed this to be the case from the bikinis they were wearing, I knew this to be true as one was my partner and the other, her friend visiting from Brazil.?They commented that only Brazilian's could wear swimwear like they wore.

My two life saving colleagues were athletes that compete in the highest level of surf life saving, with sporty, healthy bodies.?One of them I had even considered approaching to do some bikini modelling for me.?I proceeded to quiz them as to why they would not consider such swimwear for themselves.

The answer was an all too familiar one that I have come to expect from Australian girls in their 20s. Despite how they look, their answer is always the same, "If I looked like that I would probably wear one too."

My reply to this probably took them by surprise. "Like which one?", I asked pointing to the two completely opposite body shapes; one was tall and slim and buxom, the other was short and chubby with a disproportionately large bottom and hips for her height. Yet both of them looked beautiful and could not go unnoticed lying their together on the beach.

They couldn't argue the point about not having the right body to look stunning in a Brazilian bikini.?Being women, and naturally needing to have the last word, they replied with the excuse "No, its not the body we need, it's the suntan on the bits don't usually see the light of day."

That leads into an entirely new debate over what comes first, the all over tan or the minimal coverage swimwear.

But back to the original question, is the Brazilian bikini the cause or consequence of a nation of exceptionally attractive people with a reputation for beauty and sexiness? I believe it is a little of both, it is women believing in themselves and their own beauty, what ever shape that might be, and having the confidence to wear a bikini that shows off, rather than hides, themselves and their beauty.