Things have changed in 40 years.
(Photo: Uploaded to Flickr by Zellaby)

Like a lot of people, I enjoy looking at women in bikinis. So I started Bikini Beat one year ago.

Most sites out there serve up spammy porn dominated by ads. Or they’ll ruin pictures of a beautiful woman by adding sexual language that, frankly, I find offensive. It’s in the guise of humor, but there’s no hiding the misogyny behind it.

There’s no outright nudity on Bikini Beat, and I keep overly suggestive poses to a minimum. The site is SFW, or “safe for work,” and is also ad free.

Wicked Weasel in Australia and Nasty Diva in Milan
are top micro-bikini makers.

Having said that, some suits and images do come close. You might find some of the more daring suits in Brazil or parts of Europe, but few of the suits you see here make it onto American beaches, except for bikini contests or the occasional party spot like Lake Havasu in Arizona.

The C-string:
as practical as six-inch heels.
(Photo: via CStringDirect.com)

A lot of these suits aren’t necessarily made for practicality or comfort. Wearing a C-string bikini strikes me as the equivalent of wearing six-inch heels. Wearing very little can be more uncomfortable than wearing nothing at all.

Infinite variety: these bikinis are sheer.

I have thousands of images yet to post; our readers submit more every day. I think being amidst all of them makes me more appreciative of beauty. But as for my own preferences? I’m a fan of variety.

First there was the slingshot bikini.
Now there's the sling-cross.

I admit that those old-school slingshot bikinis, made famous by the bikini contests of the ’80s, have a special place in my heart.

A thin line: the same sling-cross, but from the back.

Bikini Beat isn’t a source of income for me, but I do think it makes me more productive in my work. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer, and the blog is a nice break when I’m mentally drained. A lot of our readers say it serves that purpose for them, too. I estimate only 70% of our readers are men.

A cutaway one-shoulder suit from Herve Leger.
(Photo via Fashionising.com)

The two big trends of 2009 are cut-away bikinis and one-shoulder bikinis, so we may be seeing more of them this summer. Our sister site, Beach Girls, was started in Brazil, and it shows real women wearing bikinis on the beach, at the pool, and in the backyard.

Lindsay Lohan in a cut-away.
(Photo: via Fashionising.com)