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Guadeloupe is the epitome of an extremely topless environment. Toplessness abounds at the beaches and pools: at least 90% of all women are topless some of the time, 70% most of the time, and 5% all of the time, everywhere. The topless venue at Guadeloupe includes the beach towel or chair, and although some women recover themselves prior to sojourns to the ocean or pool many do not. Some remain topless for the journey from the towel to the snack bar, or to the room or parking lot. Bikini venue includes drinking at the bar, and even venturing into the shopping district. The major distinction between this year (1994) and the last documentation (1988) is the proliferation of topless tangas and topless g-strings. Whereas in 1988 this practice was exceedingly rare (perhaps 1% of all women), by 1994 the practice has become extremely common, and is practiced by perhaps 30-40% of all women. The costume variations include maillot de roulè and culottes that are adjusted into tanga by tugging the swimsuit into the posterior rugae, as well as maillots and culotte that completely bare the butt and offer no opportunity for recovery. The culotte tangas include horizontal, high-waisted varieties, deep V-kini fronts (G94804), and pure g-strings. The topless tanga silhouette crosses all age and size barriers equally. Tangas with bikini tops are rare and when tops are present they are transient. Conversely, of the few women who elect to wear bikinis and never go topless, virtually none elect to tanga either. The history at Martinique in 1992 would help to confirm this trend. There topless was de rigeur, and although tanga enjoyed more popularity than it had in 1988, its deployment probably did not exceed 10%. Thus there has been a very rapid development in this regard. Incidentally, in New York where toplessness enjoyed its first full season of legality, roughly 50% of all topless was also tanga, indicating that those who want to expose more want to expose as much as possible. As for males, the predominant costume at Guadeloupe remains the low-cut bikini brief, with boxers also enjoying popularity. Tanga on males are spotted, but are as rare as tanga on females were in 1988. |