We wait all year for the warm summer weather to come around, so we can enjoy the sunshine in our own back gardens or on golden beaches abroad – but that excitement can also be tinged with anxiety. Indeed, the very thought of slipping into a swimsuit is enough to terrify many mums.
We tend to prescribe to the idea that no one should fear their own body or flashing the flesh in a swimsuit – and author and mum Jennifer Weiner has illustrated this point in the most empowering way this weekend.
Jennifer took to Instagram to share an inspiring post promoting body positivity among women and young girls, publishing a photo of herself in the swimsuit she will be wearing for her Fourth of July celebrations this weekend.
“I know that, even in the era of the plus-size bikini and the stretch-mark mom, too many of us would rather be skinned alive than put on a swimsuit…and that too many of us are missing out on all the fun of summer: of swimming and sunning, kayaking and paddle-boarding, digging for clams and collecting shells, walking our dogs on the sand, and holding our children in the water,” she wrote.
Jennifer prescribes to the idea that ‘the more non-supermodel bodies we see, the less likely we are to beat up on ourselves’, and so, she has decided to ‘be the change’ she wants to see in the world.
In a final, rallying message, the mum-of-two wrote: “This weekend, I hope you’ll consider being the woman that the women and girls in YOUR life see in a swimsuit.”
It’s not hard to see why Jennifer’s post is being praised and making headlines around the world today – we should all share in her confidence and self-empowerment.
