Why Ian Grace’s concern is shared by families

Why Ian Grace’s concern is shared by families

Ian Grace is not wrong to call for greater modesty in public.

The respected Gold Coast community figure sparked a national debate this week about the appropriateness of G-strings in public, particularly in shopping centres.

He’s been called a misogynist (ie a woman hater) and a sexist. Clearly he’s neither and those lazy labels are more about cancel culture than civil discourse.

He’s been accused of calling for a “bikini ban”. That is false but fires up the outrage brigade.

No one, including Ian, is suggesting a return to prudishness.

The G-string swimwear “fashion” trend for women – funny there is no serious trend in male buttock exposure wear – is one that makes many women and men feel uncomfortable.

There has been a lot of support from quiet Australians for Ian Grace. His courage is admired.

If we are honest, we will admit that our popular culture has not always served human dignity, and particularly the dignity of women.

Often these trends ignore wider social consequences.

Is buttock-baring appropriate for children, for instance? Is it in their best interests to submit to such a trend?

Do we want public spaces to be family friendly or is all that matters the lifestyle choices of adults?

So good on Ian Grace for having the courage to open an important discussion.

Freedom is of course important. But the consequences for others of the freedoms any of us exercise must be considered in any civil society.

Family First would prefer to see matters such as this resolved through civil society self-correcting.

Hopefully that will happen.

But if through the democratic process there was a will to amend public decency codes, Family First would be supportive.

The dignity of all women and protecting the innocence of children would be strong reasons for supporting such a move.