I was recently watching The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda and they did a little story called “4 Bathing Suits That Will Flatter All Body Types.” Obviously this is not a new concept — it’s that time of year when the thought of trying on bathing suits sends many women into a full-blown panic. I didn’t think anything of it at first, but when I really started to listen to the words being said, I got angrier and angrier.
The hosts were calling out women’s “problem areas” and repeatedly calling them “issues.”
What were some of these problem areas?
Broad shoulders
Wide back
Not having a “plethora of boobs”
Cellulite
First of all, I understand there are different body types out there and it’s great that there are different suits that make all women feel confident. However — we need to change the LANGUAGE we use when we speak about these matters.
Having CHARACTERISTICS does not an issue make.
Playing down certain features and trying to appear smaller should NEVER be a goal broadcast to women across the country.
Can you imagine how RIDICULOUS it would look if we paraded men on TV in their board shorts and pointed out similar things?
“Well, John, you’re looking great today but if your biceps could be a quarter of an inch bigger I think you’d really see an uptick in your self-worth”
“Bill! Looking good! Tell me, though, why did you pick a short that accentuated your kneecaps that way? They look a bit wobbly!”
It would be absurd. But with women, we’re so numb to it that it’s happening on national television.
Yes, we all want to look good in a swimsuit. I’m not so delusional that I think there will be a day when we can walk around like men do in a standard-looking swimsuit with no makeup on (and maybe buzzed heads?) Most of us are feminine and like showing off what we’ve got. So I understand the need to advertise different kinds of swimsuits in order to help women of all shapes and sizes find the one that’s best for them. But I’ll say it again: the LANGUAGE needs to change. There is nothing “wrong” with certain areas on your body. These aren’t “problems” that need fixing.
In my humble opinion (and remember, I’m just a girl with broad shoulders and cellulite so take what I have to say with a grain of salt…) here are some problem areas that we should work on:
Arrogance
Insincersity
Indifference
Cruelty
Hostility
Pretentiousness
Selfishness
Intolerance
Pessimism
Greed
What are we doing to fix those?
i had a big lunch 
PREACH. PREACHPREACHPREACH
(virtual bow) THANK YOU!
Amen! Such a good post and love how you put it into perspective if guys were up there with bathing suits on!
It would be absurd, no? It’s funny when you think about it!
That is pretty embarrassing that women are speaking out regarding “problem areas”. What happened to empowering ourselves, accepting who we are, and being confident? Nothing like pointing out imperfections on national TV…
Even the hosts were uncomfortable…it was just all-around an uncomfortable situation for the models and hosts.
Great post though! I really enjoyed it : )
Yeah girl get it. I totally agree. Now if you could only get them to listen…
Hopefully one day we can advertise different looks to women without simultaneously telling us what we need to “fix” in order to be beautiful
so glad you posted this! keep at it, girl. i’m with you.
Thank you! I couldn’t NOT post my thoughts on it, they were too strong.
Amen, sister! And if we aren’t focusing on the the problem areas of life, maybe we can at least refocus our conversations around body image to do some crazy things like increase self love and confidence?! Preach, love it!
It’s all about refocusing or reforming the way we speak. The issue itself isn’t that bad — we all need different-style swimsuits, obviously! But it’s the way we address different body types.
I have to be honest I think that we are so unaware of the situation we don’t even realize it is happening sometimes. I have watched and read some of the same things and I didn’t think anything of it, but you are so right. Instead of pointing out the “problem” areas they should be pointing out how good your favorite features look in the suits! Always bringing positive to the table and leaving the negative out!
We’re numb to it! You’re so right. I wish we could comment on the positives as well!
Great perspective on this!! Love this post!!
Thank you!
Love this so much! You are completely right!
Thank you so much Carly!
No seriously, you mentioned boobs. What if they did it to guys and said oh hey that swimsuit makes your package look small? Here’s some board shorts that accentuates your balls! Like…. What?? Crazy double standard.
You don’t notice how absurd and obnoxious the double standard is until you point it out like that! It would be funny if it wasn’t so detrimental to the women of the future we’re raising. Also, your newsletter the other day about how your boss chastised you about your walking breaks?! Talk about ANOTHER double standard! Smoking break, walking break…give me a break! (like what I did there?)
Oh, PREACH, Lauren! The media THRIVES on making things extreme – super foods, diets, and body image. Will it ever get better? Doubtful (call me not-so-optimistic). But that’s where more awareness comes in, like your post ;). xoxo!
Agreed! It’s all about extremes…QUICK fixes, SUPER foods, REVOLUTIONARY diets….it’s awful!
Love this! I think it’s so important to try to get a positive message out there as much possible, to try to combat all the negative criticism directed towards women’s body images. Arin at Heart of Chic just wrote a great positive body image post last week here http://heartofchic.com/2015/05/purpleromper.html. Keep up the great work, ladies!
Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to check that out too!
SO MUCH HEAD NODDING GOING ON OVER HERE. Especially with how you pointed out the problem areas that we really need to be focusing on…I think those put everything else into perspective!
Thank you! That’s what we REALLY should be focusing on 🙂
GMA you so crazy! I saw a hashtag this morning that goes right along with this. A woman is encouraging others to take selfies and tag them #IAmMyOwnStandard
I’d say that’s pretty legit! 😎
Definitely! There is a lot of backlash after the “Dad Bod” trend — double standards are coming out to play and women are NOT having it.
LMFAO x 10000000000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I EFFING HATE wearing bathing suits – Gross. Give me a baggy hoodie any day please – I will rock the shit outta that.
Same! I’ve never ever liked it. Even when I was in the best shape of my life. Who likes parading around basically naked? FIND ME THAT PERSON!
RIGHT?! I actually have an audition tomorrow that requires me to wear a bikini top, and I am honestly considering not even bothering going because I don’t like that! 😦
I love this! I think it would a fun experiment to critique men the way women are critiqued and see what everyone thought of that. The crazy thing is, we (women) tend to do this to ourselves. It definitely needs to change!
We do do it to ourselves 😦 hopefully that trend can fade out over time
SO TRUE!!!! Men never are subjected to what we women put on ourselves!!!! We all need to be kinder and not so judgmental to ourselves and others.
I think it all comes down to kindness — kindness to oursevles, our bodies, and others.
Loveee It! you said it and I couldn’t agree more. I do not stress over bathing suits or bathing suit “season” but I do not like how they said “problem areas” because no one has a perfect body and we should embrace our imperfections. Also why we (women) bring each other down instead of lifting each other up, specially when it comes to our bodies. Like you wrote there are way more important problem areas that we should fix.
Amen!
Wow! You are so right! We are so numb to it that at first I didn’t even think anything of it… but now I’m like, Oh my word!! It’s amazing the pressures that woman face to look a certain way. It’s ridiculous and unhealthy. We should focus on being our healthiest, happiest selfs instead of trying to fit a certain image. Great post as usual! Thanks for sharing Lauren!
Thank you! Agreed — our focus needs to change.
Amen! So many good points!
Thank you!
Preach it, girl! I wish everyone thought of this like you do. The way our society works in constantly bashing a woman’s body is so detrimental. I wish we could change it, but it’s going to take A LOT of work and time before the perspective changes
The best we can do right now is keep a good head on our shoulders and try to encourage other girls/women as best we can 😀
You’re right — it’s probably going to take awhile to change. This kind of discussion helps!
Alsoooo one woman’s “problem area” is another woman’s treasure, and if we call them issues, then not only is the one woman even MORE self-conscious, but the other who envied her is being told even her ideal isn’t good enough. Yeesh. It’s a horrible, circular battle.
AMEN!
You NAILED it. There is absolutely nothing I could add to this other than that I agree wholeheartedly 🙂
Just seeing this — Thank you! You’re too kind! Your post today was so helpful. It really made me think twice about the pain in my foot — gotta pay attention to that kind of stuff!
I love this!
Just seeing this — thank you Moni!