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ITN Source
BRAZIL: Brazil's sexy postcards may have their stamp of approval withdrawn
BRAZIL: Brazil's sexy postcards may have their stamp of approval withdrawn
The "Girl from Ipanema" may soon have to cover up, at least if she wants to appear on a postcard in Rio de Janeiro. Postcards of bikini-clad beauties frolicking on Rio's famed beaches could be banned from sales in the city's shops and news-stands in an attempt to discourage sex tourism. The Rio state assembly approved the ban earlier this week, and state governor Rosinha Matheus has 30 days to ratify it. "The objective of that law project is that we have so many pretty things to show here in Rio de Janeiro: pretty landscapes, mountains, sea, flowers," said the bill's sponsor, deputy Alice Tamborindeguy, "that we don't need to put women's backsides in tiny swimsuits on our postcards." Postcards of lithe and tanned women in bikinis on beaches such as Ipanema and Copacabana are ubiquitous at sales points in Rio. The image was immortalized in the bossa nova song, "Girl from Ipanema." With its sun, sea, mountains and sultry lifestyle Rio is a popular tourist destination. But prostitution is also rife, and the United Nations and other groups have expressed concern that it is growing as a magnet for foreigners seeking cheap sex. Last March the Brazilian government launched a campaign to stop the sexual exploitation of minors by tourists, which including involving hotels in cracking down on their guests.
ITN Source | October 29, 2005
