Did Bethenny Frankel Sexualize Teen Daughter?

Within the past three months, Bethenny Frankel has been accused of sexualizing Bryn - Frankel's 13-year-old teen daughter. 

For example, on December 29, 2023, Leah Bitsky posted on “Page Six”: “Bethenny Frankel blasted for posting bikini photos of 13-year-old daughter: ‘So inappropriate’” Bitsky wrote:

The mom-shamers are mentioning it all.

Bethenny Frankel was ridiculed for sharing bikini photos of her 13-year-old daughter Bryn on social media.

The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star posted a carousel of snaps showing the mother-daughter duo enjoying the white sandy beaches of Turks and Caicos on Thursday.

She also shared multiple snaps of Bryn soaking up some sun while wearing a light-blue bikini — angering several of Frankel’s 3.3 million followers.

Bethenny Frankel & Bryn (13)

Consequently, Bitsky related that some of Frankel’s followers accused Frankel of exploiting Bryn. For example, one follower commented: “Swimsuit shots of your daughter are so Inappropriate and exploitive [sic]” And another follower commented: “She’s only 13 might want to put some clothes on or on social media.!” 

However, some of Frankel’s followers opined that Bryn’s teen bikini pictures were appropriate. One follower commented: “STOP THE MEAN COMMENTS [...] What she [i.e., Bryn] wears is totally appropriate.” And another supportive follower commented: “To me, these pics look like a mother and daughter bonding [...] Bikinis aren’t allowed?”

On March 19, 2024 Emily Selleck posted on “Page Six”: "Bethenny Frankel sparks outrage after buying phallic dessert with daughter Bryn, 13: ‘Make better decisions’" Selleck posted: 

Bethenny Frankel caused a stir on social media when she shared a snap of the phallic dessert she purchased with her 13-year-old daughter, Bryn.

Over the weekend, the “Real Housewives of New York City” alum shared a glimpse via social media of her Australian vacation with her daughter ahead of her “In Conversation with Bethenny Frankel” panel.

In the pics, the mother-daughter duo explored Melbourne along the Yarra River, before indulging in a multi-colored, glittery dessert from Mykiki, which resembled a penis.

Bethenny Frankel, Bryn (13) and Mykiki Dessert

Referencing to the large “glittery dessert” penis, Frankel posted:

“Exploring all that Melbourne has to offer [...] We are so happy here! PS. The food scene here is incredible and let’s just say we got more than we bargained for…👀🙈🌈” 

Consequently, some of Frankel’s followers were outraged. For example, one follower commented: “Confused about the last pic and trying to set an example for your young daughter”. And another asked: “Why would you post that with photos of you and your daughter!”

However, and unsurprisingly, some of Frankel’s followers condoned the dessert d*ck pic. For instance, one supportive follower commented: “Bethenny I am so sorry all of these people are being haters – you’re a fantastic mother, your daughter is beautiful and these trolls just need a hug and some healing”

Kylie Jenner’s 17th Birthday (Big) Penis Cake

(The last time we wrote about a teen and a penis shaped pastry was when we related that 25-year-old Tygy gifted Kylie Jenner a penis shaped cake for her 17th birthday.)

And on March 21, 2024, Riley Cardoza posted on “Page Six”: “Bethenny Frankel threatens to ‘f–k up’ trolls criticizing the way daughter Bryn, 13, dresses" Cardoza posted:

Bethenny Frankel wants the parenting police to back off.

The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star warned social media trolls against criticizing her 13-year-old daughter Bryn’s clothes, telling naysayers to “keep f–king walking” in an Instagram video Wednesday [March 20].

“Some people think it’s their business how I parent and how my daughter dresses,” Frankel said. “I have the most beautiful, thoughtful, caring, loving, spiritual, sensitive, darling, loving, smart human being for a child, and that takes work.”

Bethenny Frankel & Bryn (13)

It appears that some of Frankel’s followers commented that Bryn should avoid cleavage revealing crop tops - with cherries on top, which the 13-year-old modeled in her mother’s March 19th social media post. However, andy_todd299 commented: “Love Bryn she [is] so adorable 😍” (Like Charlotte of And Just Like That, should we assume that Andy's an ephebophile.)

Interestingly, if Bryn were 18, Frankel would not have had any or many detractors; however, Orthodox Jews and Muslims would argue that 13-year-olds and 18-year-olds (and older) should avoid wearing bikinis and cleavage revealing crop tops with red cherries on top - in public.

From Hailey Baldwin (18) to TikTok: A History of Teen (Cheeky) Thongs

Back in 2015, Lucy Mapstone posted on the Daily Mail: "Hailey Baldwin looks stunning in tiny polka dot [cheeky thong] bikini on yacht [...]" And in the post, Mapstone opined: "The 18-year-old model displayed her impeccable bikini body [...]"

Unlike Mapstone, I was shocked to see teen Hailey Baldwin in a cheeky thong. And I asked, "When did teens start wearing cheeky thongs (in public)?"

Let's attempt to answer this question by looking at the history of the bikini. According to Rupert and Lichfields' piece in The Independent, garments resembling the bikini date back to 4500 BC; however, they were worn for active wear and not for swimwear, which was done in the nude. 

Hailey Baldwin (18) in Cheeky Thong

The modern bikini was introduced in 1946 by Jacques Heim, a French designer, and Louis Réard, an engineer who happened to be managing his mother's lingerie business. Interestingly, Réard hired Micheline Bernardini, a 19-year-old nude dancer, to model his bikini when it was introduced. The press and public were shocked, because it was the first swimwear design that exposed the navel. 

Hailey Baldwin (18) in Cheeky Thong

According to Time's "Evolution of the Bikini":

Bikinis were banned from worldwide beauty pageants after the first Miss World Contest in London in 1951. As the tasteful one-piece continued to reign supreme, the bikini was later also banned in Belgium, Italy, Spain and Australia, and it was even declared sinful by the Vatican.

19-year-old Bridget Bardot (1953\Cannes)

However, after the bikini was worn publicly by actresses like 19-year-old Bridget Bardot, who was seen on the cover of popular magazines like Sports Illustrated and featured in blockbusters like James Bond's Dr. No (1962), the bikini became more and more accepted around the Christian world. (By the way, 14-year-old Bardot had an affair with 22-year-old Roger Vadim, the director of Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), which was based on Francis Pollini's shocking teacher-student affair themed novel.)

Degrassi

Thongs were initially worn as underwear, but by the turn of the century, women started exposing their thongs via low-cut jeans and now they're being worn in public as swimwear - even by nymphets.  And they're worn by nymphets, thongs must be sold to nymphets.

In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) started selling thongs for pre-teen nymphets emblazoned with the words "wink wink" and "eye candy". In response to the controversy surrounding the items, A&F responded: "The underwear for young girls was created with the intent to be lighthearted and cute. Any misrepresentation of that is purely in the eye of the beholder." [Emphasis added]

Per Ariel Levy in Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, the thong was invented in New York City to "cover" exotic dancers during the 1939 World's Fair:

The thong is a literal byproduct of the sex industry. In 1939, New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia insisted that the city’s exotic dancers cover their genitals for the World’s Fair, and the thong was born to placate his decree while exposing the maximum amount of skin. 

Ariel went on to relate that, as we know, thongs are no longer relegated to (professional) exotic dancers but that thongs have become the "underpants of choice" for nymphets:

Now they are the underpants of choice for pubescent girls. I saw Hello Kitty thongs for sale at the mall; Abercrombie & Fitch—which markets to seven- to fourteen-year-olds—makes a thong that says WINK WINK and another that declares EYE CANDY; the teen chain store Hot Topic sells a Cat in the Hat thong; Delia’s has a little cotton thong with Bart Simpson on the front and another that asks FEELING LUCKY? with a green four-leaf clover stamped on the crotch. The urban youth Web site Dr. Jay’s has rhinestone Playboy bunny thongs with matching camisoles. 

Abercrombie & Fitch's Pre-Teen Thong

In an undated post, the Daily Mail reported:

High Street chain Argos has been branded irresponsible for promoting a range of sexually provocative lingerie designed for primary schoolgirls. The underwear, which includes tiny G-string pants and padded bras, is advertised in the store's catalogue for girls aged between nine and 16. The Tammy range, sold for as little as £5 for a pack of four thongs, also includes a 'loveheart' underwear set in pastel pink and thongs with I Love Me emblazoned on the front.

And the Daily Mail reported in 2008:

Parents have condemned Bhs for selling nipple tassels, edible G-strings and breast-shaped stress relievers alongside toys. The retail chain, owned by billionaire Sir Philip Green, insists the raunchy Christmas gifts are 'harmless fun', but it has been accused of sinking to crudity in an attempt to boost sales.

Yet, some parents don't mind that their daughters wear thongs. For example, Kate Strathearn's daughter attended Hamp Junior School in Bridgwater, Somerset. Strathearn shared in a BBC article: 

"I have not told my daughter not to wear them and I do not ask her in the morning what she is wearing. She is 11 and she has a good head on her shoulders."

My Father the Hero (1994): Katherine Heigl's (14) Thong

Let us be clear, we've seen teens, like Katherine Heigl and Bella Thorne, in thongs in non-fiction scenarios. Even Jenny Humphrey, a ninth grader at Constance, was encouraged, while shopping at Barneys in the first volume of Gossip Girl, to: "Throw in a pair of kitten heels, a thong, and some Chanel Vamp lipstick [...]" But back in 2015, Hailey Baldwin was possibly the first teen seen (openly) in a thong, but fast forward six years later and there are teens in (cheeky) thong dancing all over TikTok. 

TikTok Teens in (Cheeky) Thongs

Update 09/27/22

The BBC reported that "Pupils warned not to wear thongs: Parents have been urged by a head teacher to stop their daughters wearing thongs to a primary school."

In the report, we learned that the thong wearing nymphets were (some of) the 10-year-old and 11-year-old schoolgirls at Hamp Junior School in Bridgwater, Somerset.

Interestingly, Anna Roxburgh, the head teacher, shared that she did not object to nymphets in thongs, but that she was concerned about them possibly being embarrassed while changing or playing:

Anna Roxburgh wrote to parents of girls aged 10 to 11 at Hamp Junior School in Bridgwater, Somerset, after hearing that some had the skimpy undergarments.

The letter read: "This is not due to any personal objection on my part, but out of concern for the girls' possible embarrassment while changing for PE or playing out in the playground - falling over or playing handstands and so on.

"I have also told the girls that their choice of undergarment would not be checked up on, nor would anything further happen."

However, some of the Hamp Junior School parents said that they would not prevent their pre-teen daughters from purchasing and wearing thongs (to school):

Kate Strathearn, who received a letter, said she would not be banning her 11-year-old daughter from wearing thongs to school.

She said: "I was surprised the school was not keen on thongs. I see nothing wrong with them.

"I have not told my daughter not to wear them and I do not ask her in the morning what she is wearing. She is 11 and she has a good head on her shoulders."

Another mother, Annie Milton, said she thought the letter was "unbelievable", adding: "Schools lay down enough rules without going right down to undergarments." 

While Roxburgh, the head teacher, suggested that nymphets should avoid wearing thongs to primary school and thereby implying that she condones nymphets in thongs outside of school, Michele Elliott, director of child protection charity Kidscape, opined that pre-teens in thongs are "inappropriate".

She said: "Thongs are designed to be sexy. Thongs are designed to ensure that you do not show a panty line through tight-fitting clothes. 

"Why on earth would you send a child to school with clothes that tight?

"It's a child protection issue in terms of embarrassment, safety, as thongs are inappropriate."

In the end: "A spokeswoman for Somerset County Council said: 'It's up to the individual school to decide the code of dress.'"

Piper Rockelle & Coco Quinn: Self-Sexualized or Sexualized Bikini Teens?

Chelsea Hirsch posted on Page Six "14-year-old YouTuber responds to Pink’s criticism of her bikini photos" (September 1, 2021). In the post, Hirsch related the Pink opined that Piper Rockelle, a 14-year-old bikini clad influencer, is being exploited by her parents:

“How many kids like Piper Rockelle are being exploited by their parents? And at what point do the rest of us say … ‘this isn’t okay for a 13 yr old to be posing in a bikini whilst her MOTHER takes the photo?!?!'” 

14-Year-Old Piper Rockelle

However, Piper responded by sharing that she is living her nymphet bikini clad dream:

“The first thing I want everyone to know is that my mom doesn’t make me do anything. Quite the opposite,” Rockelle told TMZ Tuesday. “I’m a kid who had a dream, and my mom is amazing enough to help me live it out.

“I don’t think Pink has ever seen one of my YouTube videos because if she did, she’d see it’s just my friends and me having fun and acting like ourselves,” she added. “The content we make is the kind of stuff anyone can watch.”

But Fully Vaxxed Girl agreed with Pink and posted on Twitter that Piper is being sexualized:

“OMG! Had to google her, the sexualized pictures of her in Google are horrifying! I did a double take of her age 13???And her mother takes these pictures of her?? 

13-Year-Old Coco Quinn

And @CherylNapoli asked on Twitter: "And have you seen [13-year-old] Coco Quinn?!?! Equally as appalling."

However, @MaestraObrien agreed with Piper by posting that taking a picture of a child in a bikini is appropriate: “I haven’t seen anything inappropriate. Is taking a picture of your child in a bikini inappropriate?!?”

In the end, the most controversial issue raised by Piper is that she's of the (controversial) opinion that a nymphet (twerking) in a bikini is not sexual - unless you view her sexually:

“Why do we shame people for that? Pictures of teenagers in bikinis having fun are not sexual. They’re only sexual if you view us that way.”

Euro [Teen] Handballers: Tiny Little [Spandex] Shorts" Versus [Cheeky] Bikinis

Claire Lampen posted on New York Magazine's The Cut that "Female Athletes Fined for Not Competing in Bikinis" ( JULY 26, 2021):

[T]he European Handball Federation just fined the Norwegian women’s beach team [150 euros (≈ $177) per player] for wearing tiny little [spandex] shorts rather than bikini bottoms during a championship match in Bulgaria last week.

[T]he International Handball Federation — unfortunately this matter goes all the way to the top — dictates that women wear sports bras and bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,” and sides shorter than four inches, during beach competition. 

Wait, are "tiny little [spandex] shorts" less revealing than bikinis? #rhetoricalquestion

And Lampen asked: "Do they impose similarly revealing mandates for male beach handballers?" Of course not! Apparently, Lampen didn't realize that the allure of nymphets extends to sports. For instance, we shared in an earlier post the discrepancy between the length of the French ball girl and ball boy uniforms. 

In particular to handballers, we made a GIF from the Under 16 Beach Handball EURO 2016 YouTube video, which, unsurprisingly, displays the nymphet handballers in cheeky bikini bottoms and the boys in (almost) knee length shorts. 

BAD BOYS II (2003): Megan Fox Defends Clubbing in Bikini at 15

Bethany Minelle reported for SkyNews that "Megan Fox defends dancing in bikini for Michael Bay aged 15 in resurfaced clip: In an Instagram statement, the actress says the media and society have "mishandled" the information from the viral footage." (Tuesday 23 June 2020)

Fox says [on Jimmy Kimmel Live (2009)]: "I had just turned 15 and I was an extra in Bad Boys II. They were shooting this club scene and they brought me in and I was wearing a stars and stripes bikini and a red cowboy hat and six-inch heels.

"[Bay] approved it and they said 'Michael, she's 15 so you can't sit her at the bar and she can't have a drink in her hand', so, his solution to that problem was to then have me dancing underneath a waterfall getting soaking wet."

The audience then laugh, and Kimmel replies: "Perfectly wholesome."

Clarifying her age, Fox goes on: "At 15, I was in 10th grade. That's kind of a microcosm of how Bay's mind works."

Consequently and unsurprisingly, some women were upset with Michael Bay and Jimmy Kimmel. For example, Liz W posted in a since deleted tweet: 

teen girls being preyed on by older men has never been taken seriously and still isn't

And Ruby posted:

this is so disgusting,, she repeatedly said she was 15 and he + the crowd just joked about it ?? 

However, in an Instagram post, Fox surprisingly defended Bay:

But when it comes to my direct experiences with Michael [Bay] [...] I was never assaulted or preyed upon in what I felt was a sexual manner. 

Wow, I can 't believe it! Typically, like Liz W and Ruby, actresses will deny any responsibility for their actions that took place in their teen years and will state that they were, in fact, "preyed upon". I'm stunned that Fox did not say that she was a victim and was forced, days after turning 15, to dance in a stars and stripes bikini, a red cowboy hat, and six-inch heels.