"The Summer Body"
May 29, 2017
Now that spring is coming to its end, it's that time of the year where every magazine and website begins to tell us to get "beach ready" and achieve the almighty "summer body" by the summer deadline.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight or get fit. But do it so that you are healthier or fitter, or so you'd feel better in your own skin by losing those few pounds. Don't cave in to the multi-billion pound beauty industry who use this particular season of the year to its advantage by making you feel bad about yourself in order to sell more products.
The hackneyed phrase "Are you beach ready?" is being consistently overused at the moment and by this, they mean "Have you shaved/waxed every inch of hair from your skin so that you are adequate enough to go to the beach?" .... well surprise! All human bodies are covered in morsels of hair and choosing whether or not to remove it has no relevance to whether or not you are ready to go to the beach. Society tells women that it is socially shameful to have hair showing anywhere on their bodies but their heads. If you choose to remove the hair on your body, it's your choice; if you don't remove the hair on your body then you are prone to insults and ridicule. However if a man was to go out without shaving his underarms, his arms and legs, people wouldn't think twice about it.
Whilst I was researching this topic, I stumbled across a post called the #BikiniBridge. Apparently some women aim to lose so much weight that when they lie down, their stomach sits concave to their hip bones. I don't understand how so women go about worrying about foolish things such as gaps between their thighs and gaps between their stomachs. Being naturally thin is fine as you were just born that way, but starving yourself to a point where your body seems disfigured is just ridiculous. Loving your body for how it is seems a lot easier and better for your self-confidence.
Men also get affected by the "Summer Body" as well as women. They are often pressured to build six pack abs and muscles which are ripped to the bone. This, requiring them to burn layers of fat covering their stomachs, as well as an excessive amount of exercise and dieting. Like I said before, nothing is wrong with losing weight in order to get healthier or to feel more confident with your body, but nevertheless society pressures males to achieve this "ideal body".
Studies and surveys show that an astounding 91% of women are unhappy with their body weight and resort to dieting in order to achieve their ideal body image. Surveys also show that 81% of men are unhappy with their body image and feel as though they could lose weight. 43% of these men feel judged by their appearance at lease twice a week.
LOVE YOURSELF FOR WHO YOU ARE, NOT WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE
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