'Pretty friggin' normal, right?': TikToker shamed for wearing bikini to the beach
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A woman has gone viral on TikTok after sparking a debate on beach etiquette.
On April 4, Savannah Sims said she was enjoying a day of sunbathing on a Hawaiian beach when she noticed a woman looking at her. According to Sims, the woman became angry and chastised her for showing off her "lady parts" in a bikini.
Sims shared her experience on TikTok and her video quickly went viral, earning more than 1 million views, however some viewers were divided as to who was in the wrong.
In the video, Sims said she had the "worst experience" after settling down to tan on a beach just off the side of the road. Sims noticed a family get out of their car nearby and said she could overhear a woman become upset.
"The mom starts saying to her boyfriend, 'no I can’t have that,' and 'that’s not OK with me,'" Sims said.
When she asked the woman if there was "an issue," Sims claims the woman proceeded to shame her for wearing a two-piece green bikini.
"She said she doesn’t want to see my butt and lady parts. To be clear, this is my bathing suit," she said, showing viewers her scoop neck bikini with cheeky cut bottoms. "Pretty friggin' normal, right?"
Following the incident with the angry mother, Sims said she was then asked by another woman to leave the beach.
"This girl over there said that this happens all the time and she didn’t come here to see my body," Sims explained. "I asked her what the issue was and what I needed to cover because she was with a kid so I was trying to be respectful. She just said that she wanted me to leave, I was in her way."
In a follow-up video, Sims called the woman "hypocrite" for allegedly wearing a thong bikini herself.
"She is wearing a thong bikini. Which is totally fine, I wear those all the time," she said. "But to call me out and take off your skirt and be rocking a G-string, you’re either a hypocrite or it wasn’t about what I was wearing."
Sims's videos were quickly met with support from viewers who thought she shouldn't have left her spot on the beach.
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"You should have never left!" one user wrote. "Nothing is wrong with what you have on. If she doesn't want her kids or husband to see flesh she should stay home."
"It's a beach, what does she expect?" another added. "She needs to not go to beaches then."
"I would have stayed and twerked," another person chimed in.
One viewer told Sims they had a similar experience during a trip to Hawaii and receive "a lot of dirty looks" and noticed people talking about her.
While countless commenters thought that asking Sims to leave the beach was completely out of line, many others pointed out that Sims was a tourist on their island, and should therefore be respectful of the culture.
"You realize if you go to a different city you're a tourist," someone wrote.
Others insinuated that Sims was targeted because she was a tourist enjoying a beach frequented by locals who are weary of outsiders.
"I feel like it's normal to be protective of your land and its values. Especially since the pandemic isn't over but tourists keep arriving, being disrespectful," added another person.
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