Friday, July 17, 2015

How to Get a Bikini Body

The fierce-ass women of Buzzfeed
Q: How do you get a bikini body?

A: Put a bikini on your body.

Yes, that's right, today we're talking about wearing tiny, neoprene pieces of fabric strapped to your body with strings. We love 'em and we hate 'em, but most important is how we look in 'em.

Except it's not important. Like, at all.

Look, when spring break rolls around and I'm looking for a swimsuit before my beach vacay, I feel just as self conscious as the next girl. Staring at my scantily clad self in a department store mirror lit by fluorescent bulbs is the perfect time to point out every wrinkle, hair, zit, or piece of flabby skin. And then I get home and try the swimsuit on again, and the cycle repeats itself because even though I might have better lighting, all those little imperfections are still there.

This is coming from a petite, healthy girl, the kind who's usually told that they're lucky to be so thin. But even so, swimsuit season is still a verifiable self-conscious hell for me. It's bad enough that I'll avoid going to the beach if I have a bacne breakout or I'll refuse to eat breakfast so that I don't look bloated. I shouldn't feel so ashamed of my body so as to prevent me from enjoying summer, and neither should anyone else, regardless of their body type.

So here's the deal. If you scroll down your Instagram feed, you'll see countless fashion bloggers, celebrities, and models rocking itty-bitty bikinis with a side of six pack. I'm sorry, but most of us aren't Hannah Bronfman, and no amount of working out will make us look like that! All those faces you see in the media represent an idealistic body type that represents like .001% of women in society. The other 99.999% are just as beautiful, in their own amazing way.

A bikini body is a body with a bikini on it. That's it. Every body is beautiful; it's the physical vehicle for your soul, your heart, your brain, YOU. We should treat our bodies with the utmost respect, and we should flaunt it as our greatest asset. And whatever swimsuit feels comfortable on your body is the right swimsuit for you. Don't skip on that string bikini because you're worried other people are going to think you're ugly! Wear whatever makes you feel the sexiest to the beach, and screw everyone else! Your body exists only to please you and no one else, and if that little bandeau top is what makes you feel the most confident, go for it!

Now I know this is easier said than done; like I said, I've been there, I've struggled with body image as much as the next girl. It's a process, learning to accept and love your body. Society expects us to conform to a certain, pretty unrealistic beauty standard and it's hard to comfortably choose to deviate from that standard. But don't let some Twitter comment or Facebook message tell you you're not beautiful the way you are, because you're gorgeous, inside and out. And even though I can't see you through my computer screen, I know you're beautiful regardless of what society and haters tell you.

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