What to know
- Social media posts promoting a “summer-ready body” can fuel body dysmorphia and harmful behaviours, according to clinical psychologist Dr. Lauren Flavelle.
- Torontonians are pushing back against the trend, with many saying they’d rather embrace their bodies as-is than chase an unrealistic seasonal ideal.
- Flavelle recommends unfollowing toxic accounts, diversifying your social media feed with different body types, and separating how your body looks from your sense of worth.
Summer’s less than 90 days away – aka shorts, crop tops and bikini season. Is a “summer-ready body” still a thing, or are you embracing your body as-is?
As the weather’s getting warmer, people online have been talking on social media about getting a “summer-ready body.”
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Posts promoting a “summer-ready body” as skinny can cause body dysmorphia and harm in others, and give the misconception that only lightweight people are attractive or “ready” for the summer.
Some people online even joke that the temperature change is removing seasonal depression, but introducing body dysmorphia is the reason for this trend.
Dr. Lauren Flavelle, a clinical psychologist, shares that with the warmer weather, meaning revealing more skin by going to the beach or wearing shorts, pressure’s definitely on.
Even though there’s always that pressure year-round, Flavelle explained that starting in January, people on social media bombard everyone with messages to get their “summer bodies” going.
“[There are] a lot of underlying messages that you have to look a certain way to be loved and worthy and attractive,” Flavelle told Now Toronto.
She says this pressure makes people question what it takes to be accepted, sometimes leading to harmful behaviours.
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How are Torontonians feeling?
With warm weather approaching and the conversation around a “summer-ready body” being more present than ever, Now Toronto asked Torontonians how they feel about the trend.
Toronto resident Surbhi said he puts her energy into having fun, being happy and feeling confident in what she’s wearing.
“I’m really trying not to subscribe to that ‘summer-ready body… I’m not trying to concentrate on it. Then, when you see it, you do fall into thinking about it. So I think like seeing it less, hearing about it less is good.’ [mindset].”
Another resident, Tahjae, said he’d rather enjoy the weather rather than worry about his weight or work out.
“This notion about the summer body, I don’t really see the sense of it. When you get the summer body for the summer, and then you get rid of it, no, I’ll stay how I am,” he said.
Aoife also disagreed with the idea of this trend, saying, “anybody’s body is a summer body.”
She believes this trend is destroying body image and expectations of women’s bodies and how they should appear, adding, “It’s terrible to witness.”
For her, getting ready for the summer means purchasing garden furniture to sit out and enjoy the sun.
How to overcome this “summer-ready body” mentality?
As a clinical psychologist working with people living with eating disorders, Flavelle shared, “Any talk of wanting this summer body feels to me, just not helpful. It still reinforces this idea that a body wouldn’t be summer-ready or you would have to look a certain way for your body to be okay in certain types of clothing, which is just ridiculous,” she said.
She continued that this could also stem from those underlying messages that are perpetuated about whether your weight is indicative of your health, the discipline you have or “how good you’ve been.”
“We should all be aware that in the pursuit of a summer body, are you doing behaviours that are not actually serving your body’s health?” Flavelle said.
To foster a healthy relationship with your body – or even a neutral one (considering it’s more realistic of how people can feel about their body sometimes) – Flavelle explained the importance of unpairing the way your body looks with deeper ideas about yourself.
“What your body looks like does not always indicate how healthy you are. It does not indicate how successful you are, or how good you are, or how worthy you are,” she said.
She explained that there are two crucial things you can do to feel “summer-ready” mentally: be compassionate about your body and remove all toxicity from your social media, including a diverse range of body types that support eating intuitively rather than being restrictive.
To take your body confidence a step further, she suggests exposure therapy, like wearing a bikini if you feel ready.
It’s crucial that, whether on social media or in your circle, you be in a body-positive space. Negative body image talk can be harmful, and it’s important to set that boundary with those around you to avoid those conversations.
She emphasizes that without doing this work, an eating disorder can develop or worsen, and can cause low iron, issues with bone density leading to osteoporosis or a lack of carbs, which fuel our brain, can affect mood and create anxiety.
