Parker: Criminalizing modesty an odd choice for the French

In the strangest justification offered for the wardrobe ban, Lionnel Luca, mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet, said it is unhygienic to swim fully clothed. For whom? The fish?

Tensions in France between Muslims and others may be understandable in light of recent events, including the July horror in Nice when a truck driver shouting paeans to Allah mowed down hundreds of Bastille Day revelers, killing 85 people, as well as the recent jihadist slaying of beloved 85-year-old priest Jacques Hamel in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

But how the practice of modesty associated with many Muslims’ religious beliefs became an offense against the majority society is hard to fathom. Suddenly, the burkini has become France’s Confederate battle flag. Like the flag, the burkini means different things to different people, yet it has become such a powerful symbol of the cultural clash between overzealous French patriots and Muslim immigrants that it has become a prompt to man the barricades.

It is hardly shocking that women are the objects of such aggression. Or that men are the ones fighting over what women ought to be doing with their bodies. Depending on the era — and often the prevailing religion — women are either showing too much or too little. Frankly, I’d like to see more not fewer burkinis on the beach, especially for Speedo-lovers over 50. Guys, do you own a mirror? (Please don’t send pictures.)

Nobody’s darn business

Non-Muslims in the West may disapprove of the practice and prefer our mores over those of strict Muslims, but we’re in no position to be smug. Less than 100 years ago, modesty police literally measured women’s bathing suit skirts to ensure adherence to the legal standard of only 6 inches above the knee. In 1921 Atlantic City, women were also required to wear stockings pulled above the knee with their swimsuits. When young women protested the law, it was the League of Women Voters that urged strict enforcement.

While beach patrols searched out bathing suit violators, they also scouted for their ogling male counterparts, described in a newspaper story of the time as “bald beach lizards.” One brave woman, novelist Louise Rosine, went to jail rather than cover up her knees with stockings.

It was “none of the city’s darn business,” she said.

We’ve come a long way, baby. And along the way, with few exceptions, we’ve found it possible to allow people to don (or not) their apparel as they wish. Some schools may ban message-emblazoned shirts. And we dutifully shed our jackets, scarves and shoes during security checks.

But liberte ought to mean that one can wear a burkini on the beach — or a thong, if you must. Neither suits my personal fancy, but it’s hard to imagine that a Muslim woman dressed traditionally is a threat to any but her own comfort. Like the lady said, it’s none of the city’s darn business.