Let’s set the stage: you’re standing in a dressing room at your favorite store, trying to find a new swimsuit for your upcoming vacation or lake day, and you’re holding your breath – feeling that all-consuming sensation of judgment, both from yourself, and from society.

Or, maybe you’re in your bedroom, trying on your shorts from last year to see what fits, only to discover that either A) nothing fits or B) things fit but what you see in the mirror is bringing up shame.

And the reality is that that bikini or pair of shorts or your body aren’t the problem – shame is. Summer body shame has a deep rooted history, and let’s explore it.

Why Swimsuit Season Feels So Loaded

One of the most common reasons for why body shame increases in the summer is because of the societal focus on a “beach body” or “bikini body,” as well as the always present thin ideal. In addition, it’s in our human nature to engage in comparison, which is amplified further when it relates to our bodies.

Capitalism is a major contributor to body shame messaging. In 2022, the global diet and weight-loss industry was valued at $142 billion and is projected to reach $298 billion by 2030. For the US specifically, the weight-loss industry reached $89.9 billion in 2023, driven by the rising demand for GLP-1 weight loss drugs. While there are medical uses for these types of medications, much of the internet rhetoric surrounding them is focused on aesthetics, especially with the rise of online pharmacies that provide them. The pervasiveness of this messaging, especially on social media, can contribute to struggles with body image and disordered eating.

The Trauma Roots of Body Shame

For many people, body shame is rooted in trauma and other negative past experiences. Some examples of negative past experiences that can lead to body shame in summer include:

Bullying

It is unfortunately far too common for folks to have experienced bullying related to their bodies, particularly in swimsuits, whether in swim class at school, at the pool at camp, or on the beach. These experiences can lead to a recurrent stream of negative, shameful messages that can play on repeat in your brain.

Body Policing

Body policing refers to when comments are made related to what folks can do with their bodies, often about what they are allowed to wear or being told things like “only people with flat stomachs should wear bikinis.” This kind of messaging can lead folks to internalize these beliefs, ultimately influencing their long term behavioral patterns in terms of what they wear and how they feel about their physical appearance.

Sexual Trauma

Sexual trauma often leads people to feel unsafe in their bodies, which can also lead them to feel like wearing more “revealing” clothing in the summer is risky or will lead to more traumatic experiences. This is especially true if the trauma occurred during the summer months. In addition, societal messages that blame trauma survivors for the experiences they’ve had, particularly related to what they were wearing, can intensify this as well.

Diet Culture

According to Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CEDS, diet culture is a system of beliefs that worships thinness and equates it to health and moral virtue, promotes weight loss as a means of attaining higher status, demonizes certain ways of eating while elevating others, oppresses people who don't match up with its supposed picture of “health.”

Diet culture leads folks who don’t fit the very narrow societal ideal body type to feel like they need to be ashamed of their bodies, especially in the summer when wearing clothing that doesn’t hide, and even highlights, their bodies.

At certain degrees, all of these experiences can be traumatic. Traumatic experiences are stored in our bodies, which can amplify the already present level of body shame and lead to challenging somatic sensations. These sensations can lead folks to want to isolate and stay home or to hide their bodies so they are less likely to feel “perceived” by others.

The Swimsuit as a Scapegoat

When struggling with body image, it’s understandable to want to seek something tangible to blame. We can blame the swimsuit or shorts for how we’re feeling, when in reality, what’s to blame is the countless years of internalized messaging.

This can be demonstrated further by the fact that you can wear an outfit one day and either love it or feel neutral about it and on another day, you can absolutely hate it.

Shame says “you need to fix your body,” while self-compassion says “let’s tend to the wound.”

What to Do Instead of Shaming Yourself

Falling into the shame cycle is very understandable, given the pressures of our world. However, you don’t have to stay in that shame spiral or let it dictate your life!

Here are some strategies for when the “summer body” pressure is strong:

Practice nervous system regulation strategies before you get dressed

Strategies like paced breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can help you get more connected to your body instead of being caught up in your mind. In turn, you’ll be more likely to respond from a grounded place, instead of one dictated by anxiety and shame.

Try cognitive defusion

Cognitive defusion is a skill that comes from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It can help you find distance from your thoughts versus feeling like they define you. One of our favorite ways to help clients practice cognitive defusion is the “I’m having the thought that” exercise. To practice the skill you do the following steps:

Take a self-judgment and put it into a short sentence (ex: My body is bad.)
Take that self-judgment and put “I’m having the thought that” in front of it (ex: I’m having the thought that my body is bad.)
Take that self-judgment and put “I notice I’m having the thought that” in front of it (ex: I notice I’m having the thought that my body is bad.)

By finding this separation, you can acknowledge your thoughts as just thoughts instead of jumping to believing that they are facts or thinking they define you.

Remind yourself of the systems that have led to the development of these beliefs

The next time you’re feeling body shame, remind yourself of the multi-billion dollar industry that profits off of you hating your body. The messaging is insidious because it is built to make you spend your time and money on the products and services that the diet and weight loss industries profit off of.

Know that it’s okay if you do choose a safer or easier outfit option

While challenging negative body image thoughts is important for overall healing, there is also nothing wrong with choosing an outfit that feels safer or easier. This is especially true if you’re going to be in a setting where there are other distressing factors at play. Some days are meant for challenging those thoughts, some days are meant for choosing the option that still allows you to the leave the house and get wherever you need or want to go.

Explore body neutrality

In the pursuit of body image healing, many people jump to feeling like they have to go from hating their body to loving their body. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to pursue body love, it’s often realistic to make a quick jump, and you also don’t have to love your body in order for negative body image thoughts to not consume your headspace!

Body neutrality is simply the act of taking a neutral stance towards your body. When practicing body neutrality, you acknowledge that your body is just the vessel carrying you through life – it doesn’t define your identity or your worth. It’s also about being able to respect your body, even if you wish it looked different.

Body neutrality can help take the focus off of your physical appearance, allowing you to embrace all of the other parts of your identity and live more in alignment with your values.

A New Way to Frame Swimsuit Season

Swimsuit season is often one rife with self-judgments and anxiety – but what if it didn’t have to be that way?

By striving for body neutrality and striving to unlearn the shame-based messages you’ve internalized, you can build the ability to embrace summer joy, regardless of what you’re wearing or how your body looks. Instead of worrying about how your stomach looks in your swimsuit, you can view the swimsuit as a tool that allows you to engage in fun summer activities and memories.

We invite you to explore what it might be like to reclaim this season with your body as it is in this moment instead of feeling like you have to fix your body in order to find joy this summer. You deserve the kind of summer that is filled with being present vs. feeling like you have to perform an ideal.

Support for Body Image and Food Struggles in Nashville

If swimsuit season brings up more than just excitement about pool days, you’re not alone. Our team of therapists supports clients in exploring body image, shame, and self-trust through a trauma-informed lens, both in-person at our office in West Nashville and virtually across the state of Tennessee. We would be honored to support you in your journey.

Why That Swimsuit Isn’t the Problem (But Shame Makes It Feel Like It Is)