Questions Questions

I was on vacation in Clearwater Florida. My wife and I, and her extended family and the kids meet every year to vacation to get out of the long Wisconsin winter. It was about day 4 of 7 and I had cabin fever and decided to go for a walk. I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and my Grandparents lived in Clearwater. Clearwater Beach is absolutely beautiful. The Clearwater Beach is known for it's white sandy beaches and draws huge vacationing crowds from all over. It was a hot day. Probably 86F. I went for a nice stroll on the boardwalk by myself. It felt so good to be out for a walk. I had enough of wives, and children and noise, and needed some time just to go and do some film photography. I enjoy street photography and decided to get the heck! out of the Condo and just listen to myself think and breath and relax. I went for a nice walk about ¾ mile down the boardwalk and then turned around to come back. Almost to the condo, there was a huge crowd of people near the intersection that had crossed the road. The crowd passed me on the boardwalk, and then a woman was walking toward me in slow motion it seemed. She was a brunette, and she walked with purpose. She was walking right through me, dressed to kill. She was wearing a very revealing string bikini that was actually transparent. Being the always on guard married guy that is pretty jaded, she passed me by and spun me around. There wasn’t much material walking away from me. She was beautiful, yet it wasn’t her beauty that hit me right between the eyes, it was the lack of swimsuit material that was glaring me in the face, and not being a prude, it caused me to question why society is the way it is. I sat down at a beachside bar and pondered why we wear what we wear and why.
In front of me was a group of spring breakers playing volleyball. Everybody was playing and having fun. Around them in the hot sand were parents and children, frolicking and having fun soaking up the hot sun. Some of the swimsuits were super revealing, some were not, some of them reminded me of frilly underwear, but nobody would ever wear underwear at the beach, right ? Would they ? What is the difference between a swimsuit and underwear? I mean, they are almost the same. The only difference between a swimsuit and underwear is really location. Would a business woman park her car on the street and strip down to her underwear and walk out onto the beach in a bra and panties. No. People would be like…what ?!! Location really determines what is acceptable in society. If someone were to wear underwear at the beach, people would probably call the authorities or at the very least wonder about their modesty. A swimsuit is basically stylized underwear. Bright colors, meant to cover the genitals and breasts. The only reason that people wear swimsuits at the beach is that what society deems as appropriate. Different societies have different expectations. I then started to question why we feel the need to cover up. Why do we cover up ?
What is the purpose? That is what started the question in my mind. That started me questioning what I had been taught from a young age. Why does society (my society) require me to cover myself when everyone knows what is underneath. That is what started me on my journey this past year. Thank-you lovely brunette translucent bikini wearing woman. Thank you for walking by me with that ridiculous swimsuit and making me question society’s norms and what I believe. You have given me a great gift.