Why Every Body is Bikini Ready

It’s time to strut your stuff with confidence, bbg

by JOLIE ZENNA ★ JULY 12, 2021

Summer brings beach days, long nights, and frozen drinks, and top-down car rides. But between all of the BBQs and pool parties comes insane pressure to get that “bikini-ready body.” Stereotypically, that means a toned stomach, lean arms, and a perky butt, but realistically, all bodies are different. The problem with this “bikini-ready body” mantra is that it tells girls that their bodies are not already going to look amazing in a swimsuit. This call to lose weight and tone up for the summer is first off, unhealthy and toxic, and second, not true. It teaches girls that normal physical traits like stomach rolls or cellulite are things to be ashamed of when in reality, your body is still beautiful with them (and let’s be real, who doesn’t have stretch marks?!) This widespread stigma puts one specific body type on a pedestal and shames all of the rest when every body type is equally beautiful and ready to wear a bikini. 

Credit: @remibader

This summer, the pressure is especially heavy because of the pandemic. I don’t know about you, but I definitely gained some quarantine weight (who didn’t?!) The thing is though, you don’t have to look at any weight you gained as something you have to automatically lose to be bikini ready. Think of that weight as the support that you and your body needed to get through this global pandemic. It doesn’t have to be embarrassing or something that you think is gross even though the message of a bikini-ready body may make you feel that way. It can become just another part of yourself that you love and embrace. 

Credit: Pinterest

Hotness comes from confidence, and confidence comes from within. Social media has become particularly toxic in advertising this need to get a “perfect body” for the summer when really, there is no such thing as a “perfect body” and no one’s body should be in a bikini over another. It is so easy to get caught up in the Chloe Ting one-month ab challenge and to scroll through “thinspo” online, but you have to know that your body is ready for that bikini just as it is. Do not stress yourself out with this idea that you have to lose weight for the summer because as much as we may sound like your mother, you truly are perfect as you are. We all have those insecurities that we love to hide under an oversized hoodie and baggy sweatpants, but now that it’s summer, it’s time to rip off the sweats and kill it in that bathing suit that you’ve been nervous to put on.

Credit: Pinterest

The most important thing is your health, and the pressure to obtain this bikini-ready body can take a heavy toll on both your mental and physical health. Put down your phone and stop comparing yourself to girls on Instagram, because chances are, they are editing out their insecurities. When you see yourself in that bikini, do not pick out the things you wish were different, but instead embrace that sexy body you have. We have all been through so much this year, it is time to give your body a break.