Depends on what you mean by sexy. Smart is sexy. Confident is sexy. Comfort in your body is sexy. If you have looked at the Kama Sutra or (gasp!) sex sites, you’ll find positions that wouldn’t appear at first to be sexy. They look more like pretzel-people feats of athleticism. There are also web sites (I’m told, hee hee) that show every sort of activity you can imagine, and some you can’t, from playing horsie to eating to excreting.

This tells us one big, important thing: everyone has a different concept of sexy, and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with striking a pose or having a sizzling pout or bedroom eyes, much less a six-pack gut and an undimpled behind. A frank, direct look is sexy. Looking at people and focusing on their lushness of body, the way they move, is sexy, as in “Hey, you’re looking at me like _that,_ again, heh heh.”

It all boils down to this: you’re sexy all the time. Period. You’re a human being with a mind and a body. Now that’s sexy.

And like several people have said, I hate that when you want to shop for swim suits, you have to wade through all of the “minimizing” crap. Swim suits are small relative to anyone’s body. It’s OK if your body’s showing. “Shame panels,” indeed!

Kristie: I’m with you on the whole razor burn avoidance tactic. I much prefer the low leg swim bottoms to the high cut ones. I have a cute swim dress that I love, but it’s not very useful for swimming- too much fabric.

But hey, more power to you if a bikini’s what feels comfortable!

If it makes anybody more apt to give the bikini a shot: I live in Southern California, the World Capital for Women’s Body Image Issues, and I’ve never once gotten any crap about my swimwear. Not a comment, not a hoot, not even many stares.

Which is not to say it won’t and hasn’t happened to other fat babes in small swimsuits, but it may not be as bad as you expect. (Perhaps the fatphobes realize, if only dimly, that if I gave a rat’s whatever about what fatphobes think, I wouldn’t be wearing that swimsuit?)