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Key points
- Even imagining trying on a swimsuit worsens mood and body image.
- Body dissatisfaction peaks in the summer.
- Focusing on your body as an instrument, rather than as an object, can reduce self-objectification.
Just imagining trying on swimwear can worsen mood and body image, whereas trying on a sweater provokes significantly less distress. Body dissatisfaction peaks in the summer—and coincides with increased media pressure, comparisons, and the sense that your physique is on display.
Swimsuit anxiety is pervasive. A survey of 1,000 people found that 46 percent of respondents didn’t feel confident in a swimsuit and that 33 percent would rather go to the dentist than wear one.
Endless articles explaining how to “get ready for swimsuit season” imply that your body isn’t acceptable in a swimsuit in its current state. And embarrassment about one’s body impacts the frequency and quality of swimming—a form of exercise with substantial physical and mental health benefits.
As a clinical psychologist, I teach specific skills to reduce self-criticism and improve mental health. But because many external factors impact well-being, individual skills only go so far. Swimsuit anxiety spans multiple levels: a culture communicating that females’ value stems from our attractiveness to others, internalized body dissatisfaction from social media, and the type of swimwear available.
Swimwear options now surpass the three choices available in my girlhood: the traditional one-piece, the bikini, or the flowery “grandma” suit with a skirt. These days, you can pick a rash guard (for instance, a one-piece that has long sleeves), board shorts, or swimwear with sleeves and/or shorts, called a “shorty ” or a “springsuit” among the scuba crowd.
My shorty feels more comfortable than a regular one-piece. I don’t have to worry about various body parts falling out, adjusting wedgies, or whether I’ve shaved. I also feel more protected from self-objectification (that is, my own fears and assumptions about how others evaluate my body in a bathing suit).
How Swimsuit Anxiety Begins
“Four! Flat as a board!”
The shock came first, and next a sickening comprehension, after the seventh-grade boys rated my body in my navy one-piece bathing suit. They had gathered on a bench just outside the locker room, an ideal spot for evaluating each girl as she emerged for swim class.
I didn’t feel anger, exactly. Even then, I sensed that the boys’ behavior reflected something deeply ingrained in our culture. As a kid, I often read the comic strip “Cathy,” which normalized self-hatred and panic attacks when trying on bathing suits.
I watched Miss America swimsuit competitions as if they were meaningful entertainment, unaware that exposure to such pageants increases the likelihood of having a negative body image. Thankfully, many swimsuit competitions have ended, but the overall culture that produced them continues.
How to Reduce Swimsuit Anxiety
As graduate students in psychology, my friend and classmate Lisa Cromer and I ran therapy groups for middle-school girls with anxiety. When asked which situations made them the most anxious, the girls were unanimous: wearing a swimsuit in public and hearing boys’ comments about their bodies in swimwear.
Lisa directed the girls to identify thoughts that either reinforced viewing their bodies as objects or “ornaments” (e.g., “I look fat in this swimsuit”) or as “instruments” (e.g., “My muscles help me swim 10 laps”). The girls got the point. Considering their bodies as “instruments” shifted their inner dialogue and related anxiety.
We asked the group how they might respond to comments about their bodies at the pool. The girls offered various retorts, but one stood out for its righteous simplicity: "I’m here to swim.” If you don’t like swimming, but you enjoy the beach or the pool for other reasons, you could say, "I’m here to have fun,” or “I’m here for some sun.”
“I’m here to swim.” It’s such a short, powerful statement to remember and repeat. I’m not at the pool or at the beach to have my body evaluated, either by me or by anyone else.
The “ornament/instrument” exercise is an example of cognitive reappraisal (looking at the same situation in a different way), a mental skill linked with lower levels of depression.
There are other effective ways to reduce self-criticism. Both mindfulness meditation and lovingkindness meditation lead to less self-judgment. I discuss these and other techniques in my recent book, The Self-Talk Workout: Six Science-Backed Strategies to Dissolve Self-Criticism and Transform the Voice in Your Head.
Research also shows that cutting back on social media improves people’s body image and lowers stress, anxiety, and depression. And because people felt less distress about trying on a sweater than trying on a swimsuit, the type of swimwear coverage that you choose might increase your comfort and confidence.
No “Getting Ready” Necessary
As a cisgender midsize woman over 40, I’m at least triply privileged. Transgender, heavier, and younger individuals report greater struggles with body image and swimsuit anxiety.
But I’ve had the thought arise that I “should” be so confident in my body that I could wear a bikini happily in public. I do love my body quite a bit. However, managing my body image in this culture feels like an ongoing process, rather than an all-or-nothing achievement. And I don’t actually want to wear a bikini or even a one-piece in public, so I’m glad that I have other swimwear options.
Ignore the articles telling you to “get ready for swimsuit season” (which always meant, “get ready to have your body harshly evaluated!”). “We’re swimsuit ready already,” says the brand Reformation, “and you’re ready already too.”
I’ll be here at the pool this summer, in my shorty. I’m here to swim.
References
Gina Jones. People Prefer This to Wearing a Swimsuit. Bustle. June 28, 2016.
