I’d never heard the word “birkini” before this summer. In case you haven’t heard it before today, here’s a brief wrap on it — not that the clothing item is in any way a brief in the bikini sense. Indeed, the use of the “kini” part of the word should have all lovers of skimpy women’s beach wear concerned . . . but that’s another (grammar) story:

“The burkini — a swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet — has this summer been banned in Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and in Sisco on the island of Corsica,” CNN reports.

Opposition to the body covering is growing in other places, too, including Quebec, where opposition party members in the provincial legislature are calling for it to be banned on public beaches as well. It seems its religious connotation (read: Islam) worries some some people, who see all things Muslim as directly connected to ISIS and fear the beach attire could “create . . . troubles of public order.”

Yes, blame it on the poisonous snakes in ISIS, who are making all Muslims look bad to many people. And blame it on the unreasonable fears and hysteria of officials.

But I’m wondering how many naturists are applauding, if only quietly, the calls to ban full (old-fashioned) bathing suits like the burkini from public beaches — not because they are worn by some Muslim women, but simply because such bathing attire seems so unnatural.

To the anti-textile crowd who believe less, as in nothing, is best, it doesn’t get much worse than the burkini.

Of course, there is a serious and wide difference of opinion between those who wear burkinis and those who go au naturel at the beach. The former feel the need to cover their bodies for whatever reason, the latter believe covering one’s body with any sort of textiles at the beach is nothing short of a sin against the natural order.

So, while naturists might partially support a burkini ban for their own anti-textile reasons, we have to wonder about the hypocrisy of public officials banning burkinis while all the while insisting that people wear some sort of bathing wear to cover their so-called “private parts.”

Indeed, if they are going to force people to cover up parts of their bodies at the beach, what difference does it make if they wear a burkini or a bikini or anything in between?

— Jillian