While officials say the change would make Pinellas County beaches friendlier to families, detractors say the rules might actually drive tourists away, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

"It's certainly going to have a negative impact, because it's going to turn people away who want to wear less bathing suit than their grandmother does," said Ken Kushman, secretary of Tampa Area Naturists.

The regulations would ban thongs and G-strings for women at Fort De Soto, Sand Key and Fred Howard Parks. Men would have to wear proper bathing suits.

Bob Browning, the park district supervisor at Fort De Soto, said that men sometimes show up wearing a sock attached to fishing line that covers the sexual organ but not much else. He said that arguments between the scantily clad and parents of small children sometimes get ugly.

"It's very hard to explain to visitors, whether they are local or otherwise, that it's okay, because it's perfectly legal," Browning said.