Solar Bikini and the Microbikini

Here is an attractive bikini swim suit with a neat feature to it:  beads on the bra and bottom string ties that change color depending on the UV Intensity level.  This allows the user to see at a glance when she needs to use sun block or to retreat into the shade.  The beads are an attractive feature that creates interest in what is otherwise an ordinary swimsuit but is also practical.

I'm afraid that the same cannot be said for something described as a "microbikini."  I recently received an email offering such garments (?) for sale.  Now I'm comfortable in a bikini; but this kind of swimsuit can only be described as LEWD!  It consists of a patch barely covering the vagina, and two patches not completely covering the nipples and aureolas!  It is the most offensive thing I could imagine someone wearing.  As a matter of fact, a decent woman would not appear in one in front of her husband, much less in public! 

I won't illustrate this travesty; but I'd like to reflect a little.

Why is complete nudity somehow less offensive?  Because nudity can convet a sense of naturalness and innocence in certain contexts.  In Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, the nude woman represents Sacred Love, the one lavishly clothed represents Profane Love.

But there's some other dimension; perhaps what Jonathan Haidt referred to as the "moral emotions" -- some things just feel "wrong," but you cannot account for that feeling totally rationally.  Consider these examples:

A family's beloved pet dog gots run over.  All were sad at the loss.  But a family member remembered hearing that dog meat is delicious.  [It's eaten in some cultures.]  So they made and ate dog stew.

A brother and sister were traveling in Europe together.  The decide, just for the experience, to have sex together.  Both agreed to take precautions against pregnancy, they have their experience together and feel closer as a result.  They both enjoyed it and felt no psychological consequences or physical consequences; but they agreed to make it a one-time thing.  They never told anyone; and they felt that they have done nothing wrong.

A homeowner, needing some rags for household cleaning, used an old, worn out U.S. flag for the rags.

How do you feel about these vignettes?  Do you feel that there is something, somehow wrong, though you can't put your finger on it? 

I do; as a matter of fact, I'm somewhat creeped out by each.  That's the point. 

These feelings are not based on rational considerations.  Haidt called them "moral emotions" or "moral intuitions."  These may be an underlay in our ethical judgments.  Sometimes things just "feel wrong;" and can't be explained.  But these feelings are there and should be taken seriously.