It’s 2022. Time to get rid of the thong law, Myrtle Beach

“I’m not nude,” a woman tells Myrtle Beach police as she stands beside them handcuffed. The scene, captured on a video in 2020, resurfaced on TikTok Saturday and received more than two million views as of Tuesday afternoon.

The woman is wearing a typical bikini top and a thong, or a bikini bottom that allows maximum exposure of the butt cheeks.

The video from 2020, which was reported by The Sun News, shows the heavily-tattooed woman being hauled away by officers after someone called the police to report her for wearing a thong in public, which is illegal in Myrtle Beach. After the video first surfaced, the woman identified herself as Sam Panda, a “circus performer, stripper, entertainer,” one of her websites says. She became well known in 2017 as an acrobat after a video went viral of equipment breaking during a performance, her falling and injuring her neck. She survived and seems physically well these days from her social media accounts.

Why does this relatively old video on a medium that is keen on newness get more than two million views? Because it shows just how unfair and absurd Myrtle Beach’s butt-hating law is.

Myrtle Beach is in a constant battle to be family friendly while not outright banning the rebellious elements that bring the city plenty of dollars, elements like motorcycle culture and nightlife. The city has to walk that line, but in prohibiting thongs on the beach, it went too far toward family friendly.

Section 5-30 of Myrtle Beach’s city ordinances states that “G-strings, T-Backs, ‘dental floss’ style, and thongs are prohibited in public.” Restrictions on thongs have been in place in Myrtle Beach since the 1990s, according to news reports.

You could be relaxing and enjoying yourself near the ocean in Myrtle Beach, getting some sun on your buns, minding your own business, and next thing you know, you’re in handcuffs and facing a criminal charge.

The problem with the anti-thong ordinance is that it is outdated and disproportionately polices women.

The people most likely to don a thong on the beach are young to middle aged women. Any law against this specific clothing would impact them more. And for what purpose? Who is being harmed by thong-wearing and who is being protected by the anti-thong ordinance? What real issues could police be addressing if they weren’t responding to thong calls?

More than serving any practical purpose, the anti-thong ordinance is morality policing run amok. People want an even sun tan on their cheeks. Why should that be illegal? Wearing a thong on the beach is not some unreasonable, shocking practice. Anyone who thinks it is should reexamine their thoughts about the human body. It’s a butt. Everyone has one. Laws should not be created because parents and grandparents can’t talk to their kids about a shared piece of anatomy.

Certain prohibitions against public nudity are understandable. No one wants to be at a seafood buffet and see some naked guy grabbing for crab legs. But a beach thong ban is a step too far. The ordinance should be amended to say thongs aren’t allow in public except the beaches. Or parts of Myrtle Beach’s oceanfront could be sectioned off to allow such clothing.

With the rule affecting mostly women, it is also clearly tied to archaic ideas of modesty requirements for women.

After the video of police detaining Panda ended, she was let go without charges, but asked to leave the beach, The Sun News reported.

If a 65-year-old man, tattoo free, was relaxing in the sands of the soothing Myrtle Beach ocean side and rocking a thong, would the cops have been called?

Extremely doubtful.

The thong isn’t the issue. The issue is that the thong and the exposed butt cheeks and even the tattoos represented bodily autonomy for a woman. Even in 2020, when the video was made, some people couldn’t deal with that, and, of course, that hasn’t changed in two years. The resurfacing of this video shows that women having autonomy over their bodies resonates with people no matter the year, and it’s no coincidence that the video popped up again as abortion rights are being attacked across the country.

By having the anti-thong ordinance, Myrtle Beach is upholding dated ideas that shame women for existing in their skin and attempt to control their choices about their bodies.

Let those useless ideas go, Myrtle Beach.