Worried New Zealand mum Amy Dixon starts petition to ban ‘pornographic’ G-strings at the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre her sons attend in New Plymouth

A concerned mother is calling for a ban on thong bikinis.

New Zealander Amy Dixon wants what she describes as “pornographic” clothing to be banned from the local public swimming pool in New Plymouth, which is popular with young children.

Mrs Dixon, who has three sons, started a petition asking whether it was prudish of her to want the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre to ban revealing swimwear.

The petition has already collected almost 200 signatures.

She started the campaign after her eight-year-old son saw a young woman in a thong during his swimming lesson.

“The term itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini seems to have taken on a whole new meaning,” she wrote on the petition page.

“It was pornographic,” Ms Dixon said. Taranaki Daily News.

“I don’t want to be an overprotective mother. Is that the space we’re in now with society? If it is, I’ll find ways to prepare my children for that. But should we?”

While pool rules state that women’s breasts must be adequately covered, there are currently no rules about thongs.

Ms Dixon wrote on her petition page that women who wear a thong often make her family feel uncomfortable ‘and the confined space means that looking away or moving is not always an option’.

“I wonder if it also creates a barrier for other members of our community, causing them to avoid these spaces altogether,” she wrote.

She has received a lot of support for her stance, with one signatory writing that ‘swimming pools are generally child-friendly places. The fact that women think it’s okay to behave in such an inappropriate way is astounding’.

“They just want to be looked at.”

Another wrote: ‘I want a nice family outing, without me and my children walking around with bare faces’.

Mrs Dixon has also received support across the canal.

An Australian teacher noted that they ‘see it often. It’s inappropriate for a child to be exposed to this!’

Recently, another Australian started a similar campaign in Queensland.

Social worker Ian Grace caused outrage when he called for a ban on skimpy bikinis on Gold Coast beaches, saying women were “cheapening” themselves and making others “uncomfortable”.

When Mr Grace, founder and chairman of local charity Youth Music Venture, criticised G-strings on the Gold Coast, he said it was about ‘protection’.

“I don’t believe young teenagers want to be seen as sexy, that’s just the fashion at the moment,” he said at the time.

Mrs Dixon, who has three sons, has started a petition asking if she is a prude for wanting the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre to ban revealing swimwear (stock image)

In February, social worker Ian Grace caused outrage when he called for a ban on skimpy bikinis on Gold Coast beaches, saying they made him feel ‘uncomfortable’

“And I am absolutely convinced that the real problem here is the men staring at the girls.”

He described an incident in which he felt “uncomfortable” when he recently walked past a woman in a thong.

“One young lady in particular was walking on the sidewalk on the main road and had a very small triangle in front of her and was as naked as could be,” he wrote.

‘While any man would enjoy “the view,” I think women greatly diminish and cheapen themselves by portraying themselves as sex objects and then regretting it when men see them that way.’

He said that ‘bare bottoms’ are just as erotic as bare breasts and should therefore be banned in the same way.

“If it’s not banned on the beach, it’s certainly banned once they’re off the beach,” he wrote.

“This should definitely not be allowed in public pools or theme/water parks that are much more family oriented. Young children do not need to see women’s bottoms.”