Bikini Body Bullsh*t
Body Image
Summer bodies are built in winter, don’t you know?! No matter what season it is and how many inches of sunlight the Irish weather Gods decide to bestow upon us, the beauty and diet industries will be hard at it. And by ‘it’, I mean selling us insecurities, and oh how we buy! They shame us into ‘beating the post-Christmas bulge’ in January, and I would bet my last Rolo that they will be convincing us that we need to ‘fit into that dress and WOW everyone’ at the first ‘post-Covid’ parties, nightclubs and concerts that we will (someday — fingers and toes crossed) be allowed to attend. And before you know it, it will be bikini season. And it’s bullsh*t. Harmful bullsh*t, as we can see how this constant body-shaming is effecting our young people.
People worry about their appearance during adolescence more than at any other time in their life
Body image describes how we think and feel about our bodies. Research has shown that people worry about their appearance during adolescence more than at any other time in their life. We also know what teen body image is suffering more than ever before. This has been linked to the rapid
rise of popularity in social media, particularly image-based apps such as Instagram and Snapchat, into which advertisement has sank its teeth. Combine the pressure to rack up likes and followers with the physical, hormonal and social changes that accompany puberty, and suddenly body image becomes a pressing concern for adolescents.
Young people today are often criticised for being narcissistic, self-absorbed and obsessed with their appearance, even being nicknamed ‘Generation Selfie’. As a Relationships & Sexuality educator who frequently talks to teens about body image, I urge everyone to take young people’s body image concerns seriously and let them know you empathise with them. It is easy to forget that teens today are growing up in a very different time and so are experiencing quite different pressures, particularly when it comes to body image.
It is good to be aware of what can affect young people’s body image — online, at school, on TV, etc. and chat to them about it. Teasing out the ‘why’ of body image is powerful — why do you feel that being this weight isn’t beautiful or attractive or worthy of love? We need to grab those ‘teaching moments’ that highlight how we are sold ‘flaws’, and then sold a product to ‘fix’ said flaws. Who is profiting from you feeling this way? Critical thinking is a key skill of empowerment here. And lastly, forgive my bluntness, ask; who cares?!
Who is profiting from you feeling this way?
Perhaps the most important learning curve in relation to body image is to promote ‘body neutrality’, which is emerging as a different train of thought to ‘body positivity’. Rather than insisting that everyone must love their bodies, allow room for the validation of all the other far more important qualities that make them who they are. Imagine how the self-worth of a child could blossom if they received continuous positive reinforcement about their skills, quirks, abilities, achievements, talents and personality traits.
I am imploring anyone who has young people in their lives to start unlearning — begin to change the way we speak about other humans. Practice (and it does take practice!) talking about people, including celebrities, in a way that is not solely appearance-focused. This is something we need to improve on a cultural level. Take for example the way we talk about new mothers — the woman down the road has “snapped right back into shape, fair play to her”, but the woman up the road has “gained a pile of weight since the baby, God love her”. Those bodies that we are so quick to appraise and categorise just grew a new human and pushed it out (unlike the owners of the affectionately
celebrated ‘dadbod’ — sorry!), yet we have seen a rise in weight-loss ‘flat-tummy detox teas’ (dangerous) being targeted at pregnant women (honestly). Even when we think we are saying something positive, if we reduce our descriptions of people to physicalities, we are sending a clear message to young listeners — ‘appearance is central to your worth, and you will be judged on it’.
Tell young people that they are beautiful if you like, but tell them that their beauty is the least interesting thing about them! Tell them that they already have a bikini body (bikini + literally any body = bikini body) and that they do not need to ‘get in shape’ because they already have a shape.
And most importantly, teach them to be able to call out the bullsh*t.
Some detox tea, anyone?
