Everyone loves bathing suit season (if only for the weather) because actually buying a new bathing suit can inspire more hate than a Kardashian. But what kind of suit suits my figure? Have no fear. Every magazine that has even a partial female readership has dedicated pages upon pages of their publication to “helping” women solve this problem for the last fifty years.
Are you pear-shaped? Have an athletic build? What about a large bust? Long torso? These ridiculous articles appear year after year and usually don’t even attempt to put an original spin on the piece. But why I ask do we need them in the first place? I think that we are all pretty aware of what our bodies look like. They act like being born with a long torso is some kind of deformity and to avoid embarrassing ourselves we should buy the proper swimsuit. (Definitely a tankini.)
No one wants to flaunt their problem areas. We live in a society that glorifies bodies that are tiny, tight, and toned. Do you really think that a woman who doesn’t fit that stereotype is going to try to buy the same skimpy bathing suit that she saw on a celebrity in a paparazzi picture? Do these magazines have so little faith in women that they feel like we need guidance to tell us what looks good on ourselves? And they are furthering stereotypes by saying, “Hey there. Yeah, you. Large busted woman. Triangle tops are so not your friend.”
It would be one thing if these articles focused on bathing suit trends and came at women from more of a fashion standpoint, but all they are doing is trying to make woman categorize their bodies into a pre-determined “body type” that they were already probably insecure about thanks to said magazine.
Some articles even go as far as to claim to show women the sexiest suit for your body type. Watch out. If you’re caught at a pool part in some other style you will not be nearly as sexy as you could have been. (Whoops, you’re in a tankini.)
The amount of time, energy, and brain cells dedicated to these kinds or articles is perplexing, especially considering the amount of time we actually spend in a bathing suit any given summer.
Please boycott these articles and wear any damn swimsuit that you feel good in. Because finding one that makes you feel confident will make you sexier than any swimsuit can.
