How skin cancer leapt after bikinis hit the beaches: Rate went up 400% between the 1930s and 1960s
- Twenties swimwear exposed around 20 per cent of men and women's skin
- Skimpy outfits meant rise to 80 per cent for women and 89 per cent for men
- Modern-day bikinis expose 92 per cent of women's skin to harmful UV rays
- Cases of deadliest skin cancer rose from 1,800 in 1975 to 13,000 today
In the 1920s the amount of women's
skin exposed in swimwear was 20 per cent, but after Louis Reard invented
the bikini (pictured) that went to 80 per cent
The
bikini could be to blame for increasing rates of skin cancer,
researchers have concluded after analysing 100 years of beachwear.
Skimpy swimming costumes which became fashionable in the 1940s exposed more of the body to sunlight than ever before.
And with that greater exposure came a greater risk of melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer.
The
study found that even taking into account increasingly early diagnosis
and wider reporting of cancer, changing tastes in clothing must have
played their part too.
The
team from New York University’s Langone Medical Centre said that in the
early 1900s tanned skin was frowned upon as being working class - and
porcelain skin was prized.
In
the 1920s men’s and women’s swimwear was very conservative and exposed
around 23 per cent and 18 per cent of the total skin surface area
respectively.
That
all changed in 1946 when French designer Louis Reard invented the
bikini which was quickly adopted in the US and then the rest of the
world.
But it increased skin exposure in women to 80 per cent as most of their body was open to the elements.
Men’s skin exposure also went up to 89 per cent as the swimming top was replaced by a bare chest and shorts.
The
study says: ‘People also began to enjoy more leisure time and to favour
swimwear and sportswear that progressively covered less skin.
‘Voices that raised concern about the dangers of UV exposure were largely ignored.’
The
study points to actresses like Bond Girl Ursula Andress as popularising
the tan which became associated with notions of ‘sexy, young, healthy,
and wealthy women’.
Yet from the 1930s to the 1960s US cancer rates in men and women increased by 69 per cent and 18 per cent.
Melanoma incidence went up by more than 300 per cent in men and 400 per cent in women.
The
study says: ‘This increase in melanoma incidence occurred in parallel
with changes in fashion, travel, and leisure that resulted in increased
skin and UV exposure.’
The authors add that in more recent years the rising use of tanning salons has increased the rise in melanoma rates further.
The study found that in recent years the bikini has become even more skimpy and even more damaging to women.
With
the emergence of ‘strapless tops and low-rise bottoms’ it now has a 92
per cent skin exposure, more than men who have stayed at 89 per cent.
The
researchers lay the blame for the popularity of tanning at the door of
women’s magazines and due to ‘celebrity promotion’ during the last
century.
Modern designs have increased the
amount of skin exposed to nearly 92 per cent. Cases of malignant
melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, have risen to 13,000 a year
from 1,800 in 1975
In
Britain figures from Cancer Research UK show that more than 13,000
people a year develop malignant melanoma - the most deadly type of skin
cancer.
The total is expected to surge to 20,000 a year by 2027. In 1975 the figure was just 1,800.
The shocking rise has been blamed on the legacy of sunshine package holidays which became popular in the 1960s.
Many of the patients being diagnosed today suffered cancer-causing sunburn in their youth, experts have said.
Adding
to the problem was in the 1960s - often dubbed the ‘Bronze Age’ - few
people were aware of the dangers of sunbathing in the way they are now,
meaning they unknowingly caused themselves long term damage.
Since
then the majority have shied away from a deep tan popularised by the
likes of George Hamilton including many celebrities, for whom a healthy
glow is considered enough.
Among
those who were have been treated for skin cancer in the UK is Tiny De
Vries, a 63-year-old businesswoman and author from Bath.
She regularly went bright red after tanning all day on cheap package holidays to Spain during the 1960s and 70s.
In
an interview she has said: ‘I’m far more cautious these days, but 40
years ago no one knew any better. How I wished I’d been more aware of
the dangers before it was too late.’
This
is a correlation but not necessarily a causal link.
Two other things
that have changed since the 1920s is that people as a whole have far
more leisure time and actually take holidays in the sun and on the
beach.
The average worker in the 1930s couldn't afford to do more than
go to Margate or Weston on the train for a weekend.
The other thing
that has changed is the erosion of the ozone layer, not just from CFCs
but from all the other pollutants and chemicals we have increasingly
poured into the atmosphere in the second half of the 20th century.
This
has allowed far more UV to pass through to affect people, animals and
plants, and the ozone layer is only now showing some very small signs of
recovery. Many agricultural workers always used to do the harvest
stripped to the waist but is there evidence of their rates of skin
cancer?
