By Alana Wolframe and Alana Ireland
Summer is starting to peek around the corner, the sun is shining brighter, and warmer weather is teasing us. With this warmer weather comes the time of year when I constantly overhear strangers talking about how they need to start getting “swimsuit-ready” or achieve a “bikini body” for summertime. This mindset is hard to ignore, and it is deeply unsettling.
We live in a culture that puts bodies into boxes: skinny, curvy, tall, short, and so on. The truth is that all bodies are unique and beautiful in their own way. Your body tells the story of your life and your experiences. The idea that our bodies need to look a certain way to be “swimsuit-ready” is harmful and untrue. We are constantly bombarded with curated images and messages of what a “swimsuit body” or “bikini body” should look like. Social media and diet culture sell the idea that we need detox teas, restrictive eating, and hitting 10,000 steps a day to have a body worthy of the beach. In reality, these strategies lack evidence at best, and contribute to harmful body dissatisfaction and disordered eating at worst.
No one is immune to the pressure to conform to body ideals, and negative judgement about our bodies is sadly very common. Body image dissatisfaction, or feeling poorly in and about your body, is so wide spread that it was labelled “normative discontent,”1 decades ago, and in a summary of international research, up to 83.8% of adolescent females and 82.5% of adolescent males report being unhappy with their bodies.2 Messages about body ideals send a damaging message to us, our children, and our grandchildren, that only one body type is acceptable or worthy of confidence in a swimsuit, and more broadly.
We all need to take a moment to remind ourselves that our bodies are more than appearances and how we look. Our bodies are resilient, complex systems that carry us through our lives. Your body has taken you on incredible adventures. Your body allows you to dance to the music that moves you, laugh until your cheeks ache, cry when your heart needs a release, and express love in all of its forms. It carries you through fear, joy, anger, and tenderness. It allows you to stretch, breathe deeply, hug someone you care about, walk through nature, create art, stand up for what you believe in, and rest when you need to. All of your experiences, like holding a child, learning a new skill, or simply enjoying the sun on your skin, are made possible through your body. If we aim to appreciate our bodies for what they do rather than how they look, we can build a relationship rooted in gratitude rather than judgment. Your body is to be celebrated (wear that swimsuit!), not hidden or shamed because it doesn’t meet rigid ideals. This is at the heart of positive embodiment, showing up for your body with care, curiosity, and respect, as well as recognizing it as a source of strength, sensation, and connection. It’s about tuning into how your body feels, what it needs, and what it allows you to do, rather than focusing on how it appears to others. It’s about living in your body, not against it. This approach invites us to shift from body surveillance to body awareness. Instead of constantly evaluating our bodies based on how they look, we can begin to appreciate them for their capacity to move, feel, express, and experience life. Embracing this can provide the foundation for body acceptance, body positivity, and body neutrality.
Body acceptance invites us to appreciate and care for our bodies, even on days when we don’t feel great about how we look. Body acceptance is also about curiosity, asking yourself where your body-related beliefs and attitudes come from, why you feel the way you do, and how you can begin to challenge narratives that are rigid or unhelpful. Most importantly, it allows space for imperfection. It doesn’t demand constant confidence or love. It asks only for compassion.
The Body positivity movement emphasizes the idea that all bodies, regardless of weight, shape, or size, are worthy of love and celebration. While empowering, body positivity can sometimes feel overwhelming or even performative, especially when people feel pressured to love their bodies every single day. That expectation can be hard to live up to, particularly in a society that still idealizes certain body types and stigmatizes others. In addition, it has been criticized for promoting toxic positivity, as well as for being co-opted by smaller bodies, sidelining the bodies it was created to uplift.
That’s where body neutrality comes in. For many people, neutrality offers a more sustainable and realistic mindset. Instead of either loving or hating our bodies, it asks us to just allow our bodies to be. It invites us to shift the focus from what our bodies look like to what they do, and reminds us that our worth is based on our personal qualities and passions rather than our appearance.3 This allows us to focus on what is really important: how we live in our bodies, who we are, and how we make others feel.
Have you ever stopped to think of how you want your loved ones to remember you? I am willing to bet that the last thing someone will remember you by is how you looked in a swimsuit or whether you conformed to how society told you that you should look. You will be remembered for the way you lived and loved. The way you carried yourself with confidence and grace. I know that when I think about how I want my loved ones to remember me, it will be for how I made them laugh. I am grateful for our moments together, for living a life free from expectations and fear, and not for how I look in a swimsuit. I want to be remembered for my joy, my kindness, my self-love, and my acceptance of others. I want to contribute to a culture where everybody is embraced and accepted, regardless of shape or size.
Creating a Culture of Body Acceptance Starts with Us
The way we feel in and about our bodies is shaped by personal experiences and is also deeply influenced by the world around us. Whether it is through social media or casual conversations, we’re constantly exposed to messages about which bodies are “good” or “worthy.” But what if we chose to step away from that narrative?
Building a more body accepting society starts with resisting the urge to judge or compare. When we stop commenting on our or others’ bodies, whether out loud or in our own minds, we begin to shift the culture. That shift benefits us all, creating space for us to treat ourselves and others with greater kindness and acceptance. Confidence and self worth grow in environments where all bodies are welcomed and valued. The more we practice compassion outwardly, the more naturally we can also direct it inward. By choosing to celebrate body diversity and challenge unrealistic beauty standards, we help create a world where we can all feel more at home in our skin.
So, the next time you feel like your body isn’t “swimsuit-ready,” remember this: There is no “right” body type. There is only your body, and it is perfectly worthy of being in a swimsuit.
References
Striegel-Moore, R. H., Silberstein, L. R., & Rodin, J. (1986). Toward an understanding of risk factors for bulimia. American Psychologist, 41, 246-243. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.3.246
Martini, M. C. S., Assumpção, D. D., Barros, M. B. D. A., Mattei, J., & Barros Filho, A. D. A. (2022). Prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction among adolescents: A systematic review. Revista Paulista de Pediatria, 41, e2021204.
Mulgrew, K. E., & Hinz, A. (2024). What is body neutrality and how is it different to existing body image concepts? An analysis of experts and general community responses. Body Image, 51, e 101780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101780
