Sheer Clothing Is Everywhere. There’s a Good Reason Why.

The sight of a thong strap or nip slip now reads as a fashion statement rather than an unfortunate mishap, says LZ Granderson .

Granderson: Celebrities have always pushed the boundaries of fashion, stretching norms of social decency in ways that expand our notions of propriety.

Fashion critics read this as a reaction to the political climate with an unabashed sexual predator in the White House .

As the modesty drive of the late 2010s began to wane, thong bathing suits, which hadn’t been big since the 1990s , returned to dominate the beach and destigmatize the butt cheek.

The Y2 K aesthetic came back, reloading the era of lacy camisoles, peekaboo bra straps, and “whale-tail” thongs splish-splashing.

The politics of sheer clothing can be read as vaguely progressive, in that it’s a trend mostly confined to urban locales that lean left.

But the stickiness of the translucent clothing trend seems of a piece with the prevailing vibe on the left as authoritarianism surges around the world and each passing year is hotter than every year before.