Why are we scared of shorts?
There seems to be an unspoken fear of the days when we have to expose the majority of the flesh on our legs. A shudder goes up our spines as we pack away sweatshirts and sweatpants and unearth the shorts, skirts, dresses, and swimsuits that indicate the turn of a season. We close our eyes firmly shut as we wriggle into a pair of last year’s shorts and often offer a little prayer that they will button.
Now maybe this experience is just my own. Maybe the rest of the world is thrilled to find themselves back in shorts, happily hopping into a romper, or sliding their way into a hot pink string bikini.
But alas I am not…
“Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Unfortunately, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media.”
-Reported by DoSomething.org: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-body-image
So the seasons turn and fear grips our gut as short sleeves and short pants become the norm. And the anxiety comes not only from the trying on of last season's items, some that no longer fit our bodies, leading to a body shame spiral unlike no other, but also when they do fit, anxiety lives there too.
The shorts fit, they slide on our wondrous legs that lead us through this complex life, but then we look in the mirror. And suddenly, we are no longer trained to see the legs that enable us to chase our dog, walk down the block giggling with a friend, or run into the arms of a partner. No. Instead we pick apart our bodies, tearing ourselves apart as diet culture has taught us too for so long. And the negative thoughts sweep in:
“Everyone is going to be able to see my cellulite.”
“My thighs rub together, I shouldn’t even be wearing these.”
“They are tight.”
“My legs are pale.”
“I look bad. I feel bad. I am bad.”
And down and down and down the slippery slope we go. Cascading into a shame spiral about our bodies. The bodies that keep us alive. The bodies that let us experience life. The bodies that give us so much every day, that are actively working to keep us living and breathing.
But we see no beauty in those bodies. We see the worst things that diet culture has outlined to us. Because our thighs rub and we have cellulite and maybe that means we are terrible and unloveable and the worst of the worst. Because that is what we were raised to believe in our societal bubble of diet culture and the idolization of one body type being the “right” body type.
But there is hope. The hope lies in a secret that diet culture doesn’t want you to know.
The secret you ask?
There is nothing wrong with your body.
There is nothing wrong with your body.
There is nothing wrong with your body.
So cast aside the societal archetypes of beauty and slide into acceptance of your body. Choose joy in your body. Slip into those shorts with confidence and without a thought of “how do I look or should I be wearing these?” Ditch insecurity and live confidently in your body.
Here are some tips to get you started:
Use affirmations and positive self talk to get in a positive or neutral mindset about your body. Ideas for mantras: “My body deserves joy” “My body does not define my worth” “I am more than my body”
Cleanse your closet! Try on your summer shorts and outfits. Have a mantra ready in case things don’t fit, something to help stop the shame spiral. Then bag up anything that doesn’t fit and get it out of your closet. Don’t let those clothes take up space in your life or make you think you need to change your body to get back into them. It is okay for your body to change!
Don’t speak poorly about your body out loud or too yourself. Ditch the negative comments, even if they are jokes, they still get in your head.
Join the Every Body is a Beach Body Workshop to get even more tools for managing clothing and body acceptance in the summer months!
Let’s enjoy summer in our bodies as they are right now, not ten pounds from now, right now, in these perfectly fine bodies.
