Summer Myths vs Summer Truths: How Body Image Changes with the Seasons 

The warmer months can bring unique challenges, especially for people living with eating disorders or body image concerns.

That’s why we’re revisiting our Summer of Kindness messages – to advocate for kindness toward our bodies this summer and to unpack the struggles that can surface during the season. 

Research shows that summer can heighten feelings of body dissatisfaction [1], with the season also seeing an increase in hospital admissions of patients with eating disorders [2]. This makes it all the more important to recognise the harmful ‘myths’ and appearance ideals messaging being promoted during these months, and to explore how we can challenge this with the truth. 

Bikini Body Culture 

Warmer weather often involves adventures to the beach and the local pool, however the clothing associated with these trips, such as swimsuits, shorts, and sleeveless tops, can see some people experience increased body dissatisfaction, negative thoughts around their body, and an increase in body checking behaviours. 

The concept of a ‘bikini body’ has been ingrained in society for a long time and refers to the idea that there’s a specific physical ideal that someone needs to meet, to be able to confidently wear a bikini. However, the truth is that everyone already has a ‘bikini body’ – no specific body shape or size is required to feel confident in swimwear or able to wear certain types of swimwear, despite what society tries to tell us. 

Unfortunately, nearly a third of women say they avoid wearing a swimsuit in public due to concerns about their weight [3], and around 70% of sexual minority men experience seasonal body image, with summer identified as the peak time for body dissatisfaction [4]. 

Summer Myth: You need a flat stomach/larger muscles/toned body to be able to wear swimwear in the summer. 

Summer Truth: It’s completely normal for our bodies to change, and our worth isn’t ‘seasonal’, nor is it dependent on our body size or shape. All bodies are ‘bikini bodies’, no matter their shape, size or appearance. All bodies deserve kindness, support, and the ability to enjoy a visit to the beach or pool in swimwear they feel comfortable in. 

Social Media 

Summer also brings with it a shift in the content we see when scrolling through our social media feeds.

From reels about cozying up indoors with crafty how-to’s, to winter fashion trends involving lots of layering up, as the seasons change, our phones begin to flood with content depicting airbrushed and edited bodies posing on the beach, tanning product advertisements showcasing people with ‘perfect’ skin, and reminders to start your ‘summer shred’ early. 

This type of content fuels harmful appearance messaging, and comparison behaviours, leading to poor self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. Social media plays a big role in how we feel about our bodies, with Butterfly’s recent BodyKind Youth Survey results revealing that 57% of young people said social media made them feel dissatisfied with their body, with more than 75% wishing they were thinner or leaner. 

However, you can make a change in the content appearing on your social media feeds – when you notice certain thoughts or feelings arising after viewing certain content, consider unfollowing or muting the account, and instead engaging with accounts and creators that depict diverse body shapes and sizes, as well as share content that has nothing to do with appearance 

Summer Myth: There’s a certain way that summer bodies ‘should’ look – and what I see online is a reflection of reality. 

Summer Truth: Summer is a great opportunity to curate your social media feed – unfollow or mute accounts that you notice make you feel unhappy in your body and follow accounts that help improve your body image, celebrate body diversity and align with your passion, interests and hobbies beyond appearance. Remember, even if we all ate and exercised the same, we’d still look completely different – so try and leave comparison at the door! 

Advertisement & Marketing 

Unfortunately, the warmer months also see a shift in diet culture and appearance-focused marketing content – this time of year may give rise to campaigns promoting ‘summer detox’ and ‘summer shred’ challenges and procedures, designed to help you achieve the ‘perfect’ summer body. 

These marketing messages use emotive and manipulative language like ‘glowing’ and ‘flawless’ and ‘transform for summer’, creating a sense of inadequacy and urgency, strengthening harmful appearance ideals and informing consumers that there are strict guidelines around the socially accepted standards of beauty. 

However, we don’t need to change our body shape or size based on the season – instead let’s focus on celebrating our body throughout both the warmer and cooler months. We can also be grateful for the things our body can do, such as enjoying a walk, rather than how it looks. 

Summer Myth: It’s essential to ‘transform’ your body for summer, and the ‘perfect’ body can be achieved through invasive procedures or ‘summer shred’ challenges. 

Summer Truth: We don’t need to transform our bodies based on the season, and weight cycling can have harmful and long-term effects on our bodies. Our bodies are wonderful and unique just as they are, and our ability to enjoy the summer season has nothing to do with our body shape, size or appearance. 

If you want to learn more about how cosmetic procedure marketing impacts body image, click here. 

Routine Shift 

In summer, many people find that the warmer weather brings a change in the types and frequency of social events, which for some may include hiking adventures, beach days, coastal trips, and picnics. 

But as our calendars overflow, our routines start to shift, and that disruption can feel challenging because familiar routines provide us with daily stability and predictability.

It’s therefore as important as ever that we prioritise downtime and self-care during the summer season. Taking time for ourselves to recharge and feel grounded helps us maintain a sense of control over our lives. 

This also means saying ‘no’ sometimes, to certain activities and events – which is totally okay. When we say ‘no’ to events that we don’t have the capacity for, it means we can show up more grounded and present to the ones we do say ‘yes’ to and have a better experience overall. 

Summer Myth: Summer means a busier social schedule, but there’s nothing we can do about it – we need to say yes to every social invite we receive. 

Summer Truth: Summer involves increased social events and while these activities can be fun, it’s important we take time to recharge when needed. When we effectively manage our stress and prioritise our wellbeing, we can help reduce the likelihood of engaging with unhealthy disordered eating behaviours or patterns. 

This Summer, treat yourself and your body with kindness. Remember that every body is a summer body, and every body is worthy of kindness, respect, and the ability to enjoy this warmer weather free in a judgement free and supportive environment. 

Get Support

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder or body image concerns, reach out for help from professionals that understand eating disorders.  

For confidential and free counselling, call the Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or chat online or email, 7 days a week, 8am-midnight (AEDT).

Find an eating disorder professional – search Butterfly’s National Referral Database to find eating disorder practitioners closest to you.

References 

• [1] Griffiths S, Cowley-Court T, Austen E, Russo-Batterham D, Blake K. “Spring is the best time to lose weight”: Evidence that dieting is seasonal and reaches peak intensity during Spring. Body Image. 2022 Jun;41:406-416. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.04.011. Epub 2022 May 5. PMID: 35526351.  Accessed online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360427718_Spring_is_the_best_time_to_lose_weight_Evidence_that_dieting_is_seasonal_and_reaches_peak_intensity_during_Spring 

• [2] Liang, CS., Chung, CH., Tsai, CK. et al. Seasonality of hospital admissions and birth dates among inpatients with eating disorders: a nationwide population-based retrospective study. Eat Weight Disord 23, 233–240 (2018).   

• [3] Frederick DA, Peplau LA, Lever J. 2006. The swimsuit issue: Correlates of body image in a sample of 52,677 heterosexual adults. Body Image.  Dec;3(4):413-9. Accessed online: https://peplau.psych.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/141/2017/07/Frederick_Peplau_Lever_2006.pdf 

• [4] Griffiths, S. et al. 2021. Beach body ready? Shredding for summer? A first look at “seasonal body image”. Body Image. June 37:269-281. Accessed online: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33756298/