It’s summertime, which means barbecues, picnics, and trips to the beach. But for some people, the idea of a fun day at the beach is just a catalyst for anxiety ― what if you aren’t “beach body” ready?
There is no such thing as a beach body, despite what magazines and commercials would have us believe. In a Buzzfeed post published on Tuesday, the idea of the “beach body” is challenged by two people battling their insecurities.
In the video, titled “WTF Is A Beach Body?”, it’s revealed that only 5 percent of American women fit the “ideal woman’s body” seen in ads, while men and women both tend to score their physical appearance around 6.4 on a 10 point scale. Buzzfeed’s Nyla Wissa and Kane Diep admit in the clip the reasons they don’t believe they have “beach bodies.”
“Even though I was always told in my household to love my body,” Wissa explains, “the way media photoshops women’s bodies has had an impact on me.”
Diep adds, “Especially in the gay community, with images of fit men with [built] abs and torsos and shoulders and arms... you look at yourself, and it’s very average, and it feels very unsexy.”
To combat these feelings, the pair participated in a “photo therapy” shoot on the beach, posing for a photographer in body-exposing bathing suits with the goal of getting more comfortable with having the parts of their bodies that make them insecure on display. Later, they get to see the photos they took for the first time on camera. Their reactions? Pretty inspiring ― watch the whole video above.
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