Bikini in Popular Culture

The bikini in popular culture appears in competitions, films, magazines, music, literature, magazines and even video games. Despite the easy availability of more revealing glamor imagery, bikini modeling remains popular and can still stir controversy. As a matter of fact, the popular culture portrayals of the bikini led, to a large extent, to its acceptance by society at large. In 1960, Brian Hyland‘s pop song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” inspired a bikini-buying spree.[1] By 1963, the movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol. Playboy first featured a bikini on its cover in 1962. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debuted two years later. This increasing popularity was reinforced by its appearance in contemporary movies like How to Stuff a Wild Bikini featuring Annette Funicello and One Million 0Years B.C featuring Raquel Welch.[2] Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Gina Lollobrigida and Jane Russell helped the growing popularity of bikinis further. Pin up posters of Monroe and Mansfield, as well as Hayworth, Bardot and Raquel Welch distributed around the world contributed significantly to the popularity of the bikini.[3]

Bikini icons

In 1962, an icon was born as Bond Girl Ursula Andress emerged from the sea wearing a white bikini in Dr. No. The Dr. No bikini scene has been quoted as one of the most memorable scenes from the British spy film series.[8] Channel 4 of UK declared it as the top bikini moment in film history,[9] Virgin Media puts it in 9th position in its list of top ten movie bikini,[10] and the top position in the list for top ten Bond girls.[11] The Herald (Glasgow) put the scene as best ever bikini scene on the basis of a poll.[12]

Other memorable bikini moments in movies include Raquel Welch as the prehistoric cavegirl in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C., and Phoebe Cates in the 1982 teen film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. These two bikini moments were recently ranked 86 and 84 respectively in Channel 4 (UK)’s list of 100 Greatest Sexy Moments in Film.[9] Raquel Welch in a strategically as the value of the film by five interjected repetitions of ‘Raquel Welch in a fur bikini’ which was the one special thing that makes people want to see it again and again.[13] Actresses kicking butt in movies like Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Blue Crush have made the two-piece, according to Gina Bellafonte of The New York Times, “the millennial equivalent of the power suit.”[14