Please Stop Using the Term “Bikini Body”
Sincerely, someone with a long history of disordered eating
I keep hearing people trying to “reclaim” or “re-contextualize” the term “bikini body.” The new meaning is kind, gentle, size-inclusive. I love that. I think it is a beautiful movement and I’m proud of this generation for asking for size inclusivity from brands.
It’s about damn time.
But words have history. The term “bikini body” holds a deep and painful past. It has been a term associated with needing to be a certain body type or size in order to be considered “worthy” of being seen in a bikini. And a lot of shame for not already looking like a photoshopped model or professional athlete.
Here is the tension.
Is that term worth the work it will take to re-shape the connotations that we have with it?
Personally, I don’t think so.
I‘m more triggered than empowered
When I hear the word “bikini body,” I feel a wave of panic. I remember all the times I’ve treated my body badly. I have to work so hard not to allow my brain to go into negative self-talk because of the term and how it was used when I was a teenager. I have to intentionally let go of all of the metrics and measurements I would keep track of that helped me justify treating my body poorly.
Mental health is a ringer.
I have learned that when it comes to healing a broken relationship with food and my body, I’m not alone. There are countless other people who have survived similar mental illnesses and we are at different points of healing. I’m certain I’m not the only one being triggered by the re-emergence of the term “bikini body.”
Those neural pathways are still there.
Now, it is absolutely possible to retrain one’s neural pathways so that they don’t associate that term with those memories. But, I would rather discard the term than retrain the brains of thousands of people with mental disorders to not associate the negative with the term.
I’ve never heard the term “windbreaker body”
For some reason, we seemed to have convinced ourselves that in order to be body positive, we need to talk about how all bodies are bikini bodies. And I absolutely agree. They are. Regardless of any measurement, you have a bikini body once you put a bikini on.
And you can just be in a bikini without feeling much of anything about the experience.
But here’s my qualm.
If that’s what we want the word “bikini body” to mean (aka a simple article of clothing that is not connected to a specific look, emotion, or over-sexualization), then why do we keep differentiating it when wearing that specific item of clothing? I’ve never heard anyone say “windbreaker body” or “bellbottom jeans body.”
It goes without saying that it’s not a big statement for someone to wear a windbreaker. It is a matter of function. Which I feel could be argued for a bikini as well. In certain contexts (at the beach, swimming pool, boat…) bikinis are just plain functional.
If every unique body wearing a bikini is a bikini body, then why do we still keep saying “bikini body”? Why can’t we just say “body”? Or not talk about it other than to say, “Hey you look cute, I like your outfit!”
You might think I’m overreacting
If you do, that’s okay. We’ve had different experiences in life. I’m honestly glad that you don’t have the same reaction I do to that term. I hope that means you haven’t struggled with the same mental health challenges I have.
That might sound like I’m being sarcastic, but I honestly do mean it.
I’m not giving an ultimatum here. If you want to keep saying “bikini body,” you are totally within your rights to. I just want you to know that it might make the day a little harder for some of us.
I don’t think “bikini body” is a body-positive term
A “bikini body” is not a neutral term. It still has layers of shame and expectation regardless of what we say, because we’ve given our bodies an extra adjective when we wear a bikini.
By adding an adjective we are saying something about it. We are saying that it is different than wearing a t-shirt or summer dress. We are saying that we feel the need to justify wearing a bikini.
But you really don’t need to justify wearing a bikini.
Your body is beautiful, and on the days when you don’t feel like it is, remember that it is also strong and powerful and has gotten you through a global pandemic, all sorts of personal crap, and continues to wake up and thrive in this world.
Wear a bikini. Or don’t.
Either way, you have a body and that body is worthy of showing up in whatever the hell you want to put on it.
Just stop explaining to people that you have a bikini body. It’s just a body wearing a bikini. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.
