People, male and female, other than myself have pointed out that Bikini or Burka – both are symbols of societies obsessed with a woman's body as the sole indicator of her worth, and are both opposing sides of the same coin of female stereotyping

Amongst the number of depressing studies that show many of our children's aspiration is to become a 'celebrity' are those showing that more young girls want to be glamour models than anything more vaguely worthwhile
(At least padded Bikini tops aimed at 7 year olds have recently been removed from a major clothing store following long overdue public condemnation)

Well of course taking your kit off and posing topless on page three is, as I have heard the arguments many times, a woman's 'choice'
But, if you are conditioned from a young age with sexualising merchandize and clothing maybe any 'choice' is tailored to fit and reflect the prevailing 'culture' and the women who follow this 'aspiration' maybe really are unaware of the demeaning objectification of women it bestows on others of their sex or simply don't care about the wider implications of their 'choice' in pursuing their own agenda

As Paul has commented we have had many heated discussions about the subject of the full burka and he has pointed out that an insensitive approach to another culture (lets get this right the burka is a cultural expectation and not a religious one) has, in some instances, produced a polarization one effect of which is that full veils have become a means of protesting against intolerance in our communities for some independent young women.

Similarly to the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (now illegal in the UK), although fortunately not so permanently, the burka does however represent the exercise of control over most women.
It renders them 'invisibale' and restricts their opportunity for almost any social activity or occupation outside of the home

The 'West' construes the exhibition of the female body as a sign of 'liberation', with an equally stubborn blindness to how such sexualisation debases women.

Both versions are replete with perpetuated untruths .

'Just as a woman in a burka is complicit in the lie that the female form is the source of discord, so is the woman who displays her body complicit in demeaning it to a mere sexual object.'