For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 17, 2022

The girls don’t want to be seen, huh?

You gotta be careful not to get sunburned.

How much money was that for a bathing suit nobody sees?

Leaves more to the imagination

Takes awhile to build up the self-confidence to go out in those and to be self-confident to be alllowed to be seen. It’s definitely a learning experience. Later, they will flaunt it and know that they own the same guys (who are unable to look away).

Just wait ’til they come OUT of the water and the boys see them in wet, clingy tees!!

Nice, modest girls. :)

Girl logic is different then that of the rest of the Universe.

The last panel puzzles me. Not that the girls are self conscious in front of boys. What happened to the red stars on Liz’s white t-shirt? And why did Dawn put on Liz’s white t-shirt instead of her own purple shirt?

The girls are twelve. I wore T-shirts over my swimsuit at that age as well. It’s not just self-consciousness, it’s that they absolutely bought those cossies without their parents’ knowledge and so can show off to each other but can’t let their brothers see or the parents will be told and the law will come down with great force.

She wore an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow

I never have figured out why girls do that. Good grief, just put on a conservative one-piece suit.

Its not like it was an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow poked dot bikinis

I wear tees over my suits, too!

There are swimsuits you swim in and swimsuits you sin in. Just get comfortable and have a ball.

I remember in junior high….I was very developed (and quite buxom). My parents wouldn’t allow a bikini, but I was allowed a two piece with a very modest bottom. And my mother sewed two layers of lace on the bra of the suit to hide cleavage. Oh, and my Dad made me wear a white T-shirt on top of it.

My daughter does the same thing. Lol

Suddenly they become shy?

Modest little things, aren’t they?

wow, some actual modesty?!

Teen girls… go figure.

“Itsy bitsy tinny winnie yellow polka dot bikini”

I used to wear a T shirt while swimming after I got hair on my chest. Didn’t like the attention

They are in Canada. Water temps this time of year are about 5º C. (41º F). That’s so cold that it can be called [REDACTED] by some salacious people.

As a girl I think at this age you are between childhood and adulthood and it seems to me they are wanting to be grownup but are also still tomboys who want to have fun in the water. Later on in this process they will wear the suits and sunbath on the beach for all to admire.

That awkward age: developing, being conflicted between liking the changes they see and being afraid of how other people see them.

Dawn and Elisabeth sure are cuties.

Brain Enjo is sitting at home thinking, “They left without me?”

Sounds like a Dave Berg cartoon in MAD, specifically “The Lighter Side of Of”.

A girl in a one-piece swimsuit is walking by a pool. A boy in the pool splashes her.

Girl: SCREECHH!

Boy: “Ha ha, now you’re all wet!”

Girl: “I just bought this new bathing suit! Are you trying to ruin it?”

Good for them.

Sorry guys… LOL

Still no visible bustlines,so what’s the point?

There are many countries (Brazil being a prime example), where kids, boys and girls alike, wear barely-there swimwear and it’s considered perfectly normal.