Every Body is a Bikini Body

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It’s summer here in the Charleston area, which means it’s time to pack up the car and hit the beach with a wagon full of snacks and extra towels because we’re moms and we know that our kids will most likely get one towel so wet and sandy they won’t be able to use it at the end of the day.

This is also the time of year where women, and especially moms can be singled out for not having a “bikini ready” body. It’s ingrained in our society that as soon as spring hits it’s time to start working out more, and going on that juice cleanse to flatten our stomachs in order to look good at the beach. I definitely gave in to the peer pressure of it, particularly when I was young, but now that I’m older I can’t stand seeing all the fad diets and workout equipment advertised in order for me to have a socially acceptable summer body.

After becoming a mom I would get a lot of comments on social media like:

“OMG! You’re already wearing a bikini again?!”

“A two-piece! I wish I could pull that off.”

“Good for you, Momma, showing your tummy off”

I had no idea how to respond to these comments. Even though I had a little more of a midsection, I knew I would be the most comfortable if I needed to use the bathroom or nurse my baby in a two-piece bathing suit. I had no idea I was making any sort of a statement besides, “I didn’t buy a new bathing suit.”

Eight years later I still mostly wear a two-piece, with the occasional one-piece thrown in if I know we’ll be around water slides and I don’t want any accidents with bottoms going down or tops flying up, but again, that’s more for function and my comfort over anyone else’s.I really want my daughter to grow up being confident in her body, and being able to know she can wear whatever she wants without the consequence of her peers telling her “she’s so brave” for her choices. A mom in a bikini is not a big deal. Moms are humans who are just living their lives like the rest of us.

So, I would like to tell you, if you’re a person who isn’t sure if they should wear that bikini this year, do it! At the end of the day, everyone else at the beach is too preoccupied to be thinking about your choices anyway. Do what makes you happy because if you’re comfortable, you’re beautiful and that’s really all that matters.