summer thoughts

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Judging by my Facebook and Instagram news feeds, #LaBoracay season seems to be coming to a close. The parties have ended, the beaches are emptying, bikinis are being tossed in the laundry, and social media is filling up with pictures of nearly naked boys and girls in their swimsuits. Yes yes, everyone is happy.

Except me. Because I hate summer. Okay I don't hate summer. I like summer. But I really hate what summer does to people. To women, especially.

Look. Summer is supposed to be a time for freedom. For the time being, you're free from lectures, homework, quizzes, tests. No more thesis. No more thesis adviser. You're free. You've got the time to go head out to the beach with your friends and chill out, and nobody has the right to waggle a finger at you and say, Hey, you crazy kid, you should be in school! Nope. Because there is no more school. Because it is summer. Rejoice, men and women of the world!

Only, not really. Because when I'm scrolling through my Twitter feed or my Facebook feed, I'm always reminded of the stupid idea that summer isn't freedom; summer is being sexy. I mean just check out all these tweets I found by searching for "sexy summer" on Twitter:
Notice how sexiness is always coupled with bikini bodies, and bikinis are, of course, always coupled with women. Get the idea? Society wants us to think that the only way women can enjoy summer is when they're "sexy," and that the only way to be sexy is to be thin. It's tweets like these that make women believe that they have to trim down in order to look good in a bikini and, as a consequence, have fun at the beach. As if only thin (and therefore, "sexy") women can enjoy summer!

The clothing companies are of course cashing in on this, telling us that wearing their brand of swimwear will make us sexier.




And, unsurprisingly, many women are falling for it:




And try this little experiment right now: I bet you a hundred bucks that when you Google Image search "sexy swimwear," the first 40 images that will appear will ALWAYS be of women. Go on, do it. Or if you're too lazy, click on this link. Why is this true? Because it's only WOMEN who are expected to be sexy. Can you imagine how weird and funny it would be if sexy swimwear were marketed to men?


Really silly, right?

Here's a proposition: Can we stop with this obsession with sexy? Instead, can we see "sexy" in other parts of a woman? Beyond her waistline or her bust size, can "sexy" be found in her intelligence, in her talent, in her passion, in her kindness?

That's all I have to say for now. Thoughts, anyone?

Comments

  1. DianeSunday, May 04, 2014

    Nice blog entry! Interesting view :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSunday, May 04, 2014

    I think some people do find other attributes sexy. Theyr'e just not loud about it.

    ReplyDelete

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