a) The last reasonable act of rebellion for a self-respecting teen in the third millennium. How else are you meant to shock parents who already have tattoos, piercings and probably even recreational drug habits

b) A political act. As with the Slut Walks from 2011, reclaiming the word slut as a positive thing

c) A tribal mating ritual. They can’t help themselves, it’s primal urges and animal instincts man

d) The thrill of a clique within a crowd

e) No reason. It just seemed funny at the time

Regardless of the why these actions did have actual consequences such as guys thinking that because the girls were in bikinis with sexy slogans written in sexy places it was ok to grab a piece of their ass as shown in this Ed Templeton pic below or slap it. Which it of course wasn’t and isn’t. Ever.

Cori Schumacher also noted the links between sexualising the sport and “setting up the expectation of what ought to be on display at a surf spectacle.”

While Britta, our fashion editor, is actually far more alarmed by the army slogans and brand brandings as she discusses here.

We’d be very interested to hear your thoughts too, below the line or on our Facebook or Twitter and we’ll round up the best comments at the end of the week.

All photos credit: Ed Templeton and Deanna Templeton

READ YOUR BEST COMMENTS ON THE PIECE HERE