With the weather getting warmer, more of us want to get out and enjoy the sunshine. But the pressures of a ‘summer body’ is one of the many expectations women face this summer – especially when wearing bikinis and having skin on show.
Do men also feel the pressure? Of course everyone wants to look and feel their best but societal expectations fall harder on women. From hairless bodies to flat stomachs and defined assets, why should women tick these off like a checklist before summer starts? And how do we create more acceptance for everyone?
The ‘summer body’
A survey highlighted that 78% of Gen Z feel the pressure to have the perfect body for summer. But this isn’t just limited to young people; 41% of those across all age ranges feel obliged to look ready for summer too.
But what do we actually mean by the term ‘summer body’? A ‘summer body’ is a made-up term that implies the body should look a certain way in summer. It’s often related to practices that aren’t beneficial to your health, such as losing unnecessary weight or prioritising diet over nutrition. With tips scattered across social media to achieve the desired ‘beach bod’, it’s no wonder that as soon as the sun hits, women feel obliged to conform to expectations.
The online world is obsessed with building muscle and muscle mass so there’s a lot of content on weight training and full-body workouts to ‘quickly’ to achieve your ultimate look for summer. Although working out is not inherently bad, this type of messaging is sure to cause strain on anyone’s outlook on their bodies.
What do women have to say?
Social media plays a huge role in projecting beauty standards in contemporary society. So we spoke with two 21-year-olds about how online platforms contribute to their insecurities during the warmer months.
“It plays a part in me fake tanning because social media this time of year makes being pale feel wrong or ugly. Tanning beds were very out of style 10 years ago but with social media, they’ve become super popular again. People are willing to risk skin cancer and their health to look like the people they see online. There’s definitely also the pressure to have the perfect summer wardrobe that’s up to trend. But size comes into play there when you’re trying to find clothes that are comfortable for the heat, how you feel in your body, and what’s in style at the moment, which can all sometimes be really hard to balance.” – Anonymous
“I think to a certain extent yes. I usually don’t feel that much pressure from social media but when summer comes around it’s hard not to think you should look a certain way. Especially with tanning, there seems to be a view that you have to be tanned for the summer months. I am a victim of this, often laying in the sun for hours hoping to be tanned. In reality, it doesn’t make any sense as it’s technically bad for your skin. Social media definitely plays a part as I don’t think I’ve ever seen an influencer who isn’t looking super tanned in summer.” – Anonymous
So attempting to burn fat, lose weight and tan multiple times a week seem to be some of the obvious insecurities summer brings. As women, we should not feel the pressure to change the way we look – especially to standards which stem from social media exposure – which for the most part, are glorified and fake.
How summer can affect our mental health and ways to overcome the pressure
Weather alone can impact our mental well-being, whether positively or negatively. According to Verywell Mind, 75% of women suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD); when the fall season starts and light diminishes. As well as suffering in the winter months, women should most definitely not be a victim in the summer.
We spoke with another woman about how summer affects her mental health:
“It’s my biggest downfall when looking forward to a holiday. Worried about how I will feel when seeing other women by the pool. Not being able to fully relax knowing that my body shape isn’t considered the ‘perfect body’. When booking a holiday, I put a lot of pressure on getting ‘beach body ready’ rather than looking forward to relaxing by the pool.” – Anonymous
Learning to accept your body as it is, is the first step in overcoming societal expectations on summer standards. It’s not practical or healthy to change your body fast with a sudden diet or over-exercising. To overcome the pressures, you need to love yourself first and stop absorbing all types of information via social media. The glorified and stimulated ideas of what our bodies should look like, which are portrayed online, are not real.
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Written by Charlotte Ashley
Illustrated by Francesca Mariama
