Abbie Chatfield slams Gold Coast man’s calls for G-string bikini ban

Abbie Chatfield has pointed out the glaring issue with the recent calls for skimpy swimwear to be banned on Aussie beaches.

Abbie Chatfield has condemned calls to ban G-string bikinis at the beach after a Gold Coast man claimed the skimpy swimwear made him “uncomfortable”.

The outspoken personality unleashed on community worker Ian Grace after his quest to have the popular bikini prohibited made headlines around the country.

Mr Grace, the 2022 Gold Coast Volunteer of the Year, claims G-string cozzies cause him to “inadvertently” look at the women wearing them, adding that while it was “a pleasant view”, it sent the “wrong message”.

Women were quick to label the proposed bikini ban “sexist”, a sentiment Chatfield shared in a video addressed to Mr Grace following his appearance on The Project on Monday.

Ian Grace made headlines across the country after he revealed bum-baring swimwear left him feeling ‘uncomfortable’. Picture: Supplied

He proposed a ban on G-string bikinis after seeing a woman ‘as close to naked as anyone could be’ walk past him recently. Picture: iStock

“Imagine going on the Project to expose yourself as a misogynist,” the 28-year-old said.

“This absolute loser twerp who obviously has some sort of power complex … it’s a bit weird the amount of times he mentions being ‘forced’ to look at women’s arses and bosoms.”

During his TV appearance, Mr Grace – who runs a music program for kids aged 11 to17 – said women “baring their bums” isn’t great for younger generations.

“We want to build their confidence, we want them to be proud of themselves and respect others and do things that people respect,” he told the hosts.

“Bearing their bulls would not be in line with that.”

Chatfield addressed this in her take-down, stating that forcing women to “cover up” doesn’t teach the kids anything, and instead blames women for the fact their bodies are “sexualised”.

“It teaches them that you mature, you aren’t allowed to look at women’s bodies, because they are sexual objects,” she said.

“It also is saying you actually aren’t responsible for your own emotions, it’s the women who you are looking at, it’s their responsibility.

“So you’re teaching them victim blaming as children … he’s teaching young women their bodies should be policed by men, and are innately sexual and tempting to men.”

Abbie Chatfield claimed the proposed prohibition exposed Mr Grace as a ‘misogynist’. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

She also argued that it was ‘policing women’. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

Chatfield, who called for Mr Grace to “please get a hobby that doesn’t involve policing women”, was met with huge applause from fans who flooded the comments section.

“How am I supposed to go swim without a bikini, do I have to change on the beach???” one asked.

“DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON MIDDLE AGED MEN IN Lycra,” another raged.

As one scoffed: “Omg and men are always saying women are dramatic.”

There had been a similar response after Mr Grace’s petition to Tom Tate, the Mayor of the Gold Coast, was published in the Gold Coast Bulletin on Saturday – prompting women to label the ban proposal “sexist and outdated”.

“Wow 2024, and still being shamed for our bodies,” one woman stated.

“Can we ask men to wear shirts too then?” someone else mused, pointing out the obvious double standard.

As another wrote: “This is so blatantly sexist and outdated. This wasn’t the flex Ian thought it was.”

Many of the outspoken personalities followers agreed it was ‘sexist and outdated’. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

In his request, Mr Grace had explained an incident with a woman, who was apparently “as close to naked as anyone could be”, had spurred him to launch the G-string bikini ban.

“At a local event where our musicians were playing, one young lady in particular was walking on the footpath on the main road and had the tiniest triangle in front and was as close to naked as anyone could be,” Mr Grace wrote.

“You could see she was looking almost defiantly at people as they approached, almost daring them to say something. There’s something very wrong here.

“Bare bums can be seen to be every bit as erotic if not more so, than women’s bare breasts – so would it not make sense they are banned identically? If not banned at the beach, very definitely banned the moment they are off the beach.

“This certainly should not be allowed in public pools or theme/water parks which are very much more family orientated. Young kids don’t need to see women’s bums.”

While there has been a lot of backlash to his request, there have been a few who have supported the ban, with those supporters labelling the skimpy swimwear trend “attention seeking”.