How Times Have Changed.

Today I visited the Olympic Swimming Exhibition at The Centre MK and I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed.  Not that it wasn't a good display, I just wasn't as impressed as I was expecting to be.  What did interest me though, was the facts that they gave about how attitudes to women and swimming have changed over the years.  It wasn't until Victorian times that women were even allowed to learn to swim.  The costumes that they wear have also undergone some dramatic changes.

Victorian Swimming Costume.

During the Victorian Era, women had to wear bathing costumes that had them completely covered from head to toe.  No skin was allowed to be shown.  It is a wonder that they learnt to swim at all considering how heavy they must have got when wet.

Annette Kellerman

In 1907, Annette Kellerman from Australia was arrested for indecent exposure whilst on a visit to the United States.  She had been wearing a swimming costume that showed her arms, legs and neck.  Kellerman changed the suit to become less revealing of skin but still showed  off her shape underneath.  She then went on to market her own line of bathing suits that were considered to be offensive under 1920's censorship.

Now we have Bikinis and even Monokinis that leave almost nothing to the imagination and are all perfectly legal in most countries.  It would seem that over the years, women haven't just been granted the freedom of swimming but also the right to wear what they like whilst doing so.  The Victorians may have wanted us to cover up but it would seem that we would much rather follow in the ways of the Ancient Romans who swam in the nude.