Pamela Anderson & That Iconic Red Swimsuit

When lifeguard CJ Parker, played by Pamela Anderson, ran in slow-mo down a sandy California beach in her iconic cherry red swimsuit — you know the one, low in the front, hiiiiiigh on the sides — she didn’t just turn “Baywatch” into the number-one TV show in America, she became the enduring symbol of 90s sexuality. In this episode, Jess and Susie trace that swimsuit’s surprising history — and its ripple effects. Guests: Pamela Anderson, actor, activist and author  Susan Douglas, professor of media studies at the University of Michigan and author of “Enlightened Sexism” FOR MORE: Pamela Anderson Doesn’t Need Your Redemption. She’s Just Fine. (NY Times) How Baywatch Went from Early Belly Flop to the Big Screen (NY Times) Pamela: A Love Story (Netflix) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it. Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.