Wet T-shirt contest

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Wet participant (not a T-shirt, but rather a tank top)

A wet T-shirt contest is a form of beauty contest in which the participating women wear a white or light-colored T-shirt without a bra, while water is sprayed or poured on them to make their clothing semi-transparent. The water is often cold to induce erect nipples, suggestive of sexual arousal. The participants sometimes remove their T-shirts, appearing topless or even totally naked. Wet T-shirt contests can be considered a form of striptease or erotic dance. The performance is intended to cause sexual arousal among the audience. It is becoming increasingly common for the lady contestants to remove all their clothing and kiss or touch in a sensual way the other participants, and thus, the contest starts to slowly shift away from its original format. Many of these contests are filmed, and then distributed over the internet. Analogous "wet boxer-short contest" with well-endowed young male participants are also held.

The origin of wet T-shirt contests is generally traced back to Jacqueline Bisset's appearance in the film The Deep (1977), in whose opening sequence she was seen swimming underwater and surfacing, wearing a white T-shirt. However, it has been reported that in 1969, Playboy ran a two-page spread of a wet T-shirt contest held at Mammoth Mountain as part of the K2 ski promotional tour, which would make that the first ever.[1]

1 Controversies
- 1.1 Catherine Bosley
- 1.2 In-flight wet T-shirt contest
2 In popular culture
3 References

[edit] Controversies

Water being poured on a contestant.

[edit] Catherine Bosley

In 2003, Youngstown, Ohio, TV news anchor Catherine Bosley caused a controversy by entering a wet T-shirt contest at a local bar while on vacation in Key West, ultimately stripping down to appear totally naked. The competition was videotaped and later broadcast on the Internet. After this became public knowledge, Bosley resigned.^[1]

This caused intense debate at the time as it was felt that, although high-profile media people customarily have morals clauses in their contracts, her behavior in Key West was not necessarily immoral. She is now a reporter for WOIO (CBS) in Cleveland, Ohio.

[edit] In-flight wet T-shirt contest

In 1998, a group of teenagers from across the Northwest celebrating their high school graduation on a chartered Boeing 727 flight to a Mexican resort held a wet T-shirt contest after a flight attendent encouraged the activity.

An FAA investigation followed, as the aircraft's pilots supposedly judged the contest on the flight deck, while federal aviation rules state that passengers are not allowed in the cockpit. A video had been taken that clearly showed the contestants emerging from the cockpit wearing their wet T-shirts, and the pilots were disciplined by the FAA for sexual misconduct. ^[2]

[edit] In popular culture

Frank Zappa recorded a satirical song about these sort of contests called "Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt". It can be heard on his 1979 album Joe's Garage.