This is the bathing suit I won’t be wearing this summer
Swimsuits for All It’s lovely. The print is wicked cool. The quality is solid. But, I won’t be wearing it. In saying this, I run the risk of being tarred and feathered by the (plus-size) community I’ve been intimately connected to for years. As if my personal choice is fuel for fat-shamers everywhere. But I’ll say it anyway. This summer, in the year of our lord 2015, I, Sarah Sapora, will not be wearing a bikini.
It’s not as if I don’t support my plus-size sisters in their choices to be bikini-proud. Not in the least. Go on, girl, do your thing! But for me? I’m cool. Here’s why…
Ten years ago, if a woman of size wanted to wear a two-piece bathing suit, she’d be sporting a tankini. Lots of coverage, and readily accessible with major retailers. Anything more “daring” and she’d be relegated to the few websites online that catered to the “BBW-proud” crowd. But last year, Gabi Greg smashed through the one-piece bathing suit ceiling when she debuted a collection for Swimsuits for All that featured boldly-printed bikinis. Or, as Greg dubbed them, Fatkini’s. The collection sold out in hours; the plus-size bikini-floodgates were opened. This summer, size 14+ bikinis are everywhere. It’s almost hard to find a cool one-piece anywhere! And it’s not just high-waisted suits, but ones with bottoms that dip low to reveal the soft stomach curves so many women were anxious to hide in the past.
like this or this!) And yes, my body isn’t as fit as I’d like it to be for my own personal journey. But I accept every Work-In-Progress piece of me that is far from perfect but worthy of love just the same. But loving me as a whole doesn’t have to equal loving to display all my bits and pieces. Loving myself means I have the power to do with my body as I want; to select what parts of me I want to reveal. Being body positive means that I’m at peace with my body, regardless if I want to make changes to it or not; it isn’t a prescription for how I must present it to the world. It’s not as if I don’t support my plus-size sisters in their choices to be bikini-proud. Not in the least. Go on, girl, do your thing! But for me? I’m cool. Here’s why…
Ten years ago, if a woman of size wanted to wear a two-piece bathing suit, she’d be sporting a tankini. Lots of coverage, and readily accessible with major retailers. Anything more “daring” and she’d be relegated to the few websites online that catered to the “BBW-proud” crowd. But last year, Gabi Greg smashed through the one-piece bathing suit ceiling when she debuted a collection for Swimsuits for All that featured boldly-printed bikinis. Or, as Greg dubbed them, Fatkini’s. The collection sold out in hours; the plus-size bikini-floodgates were opened. This summer, size 14+ bikinis are everywhere. It’s almost hard to find a cool one-piece anywhere! And it’s not just high-waisted suits, but ones with bottoms that dip low to reveal the soft stomach curves so many women were anxious to hide in the past.
And so I bought a bikini. Without intending to wear it, I purchased one anyway …. And then I put it a drawer.
You bet your ass I wan t my sho pping dollars to be heard by major retailers. I want more and more and more companies to offer fashion freedom to women of every size, shape and color. I bought the bikini, I tried it on, and I put it away. Because I love myself. And, in my world, that means my right to wear it, or let it live tucked away peacefully in the back of my dresser drawer. Bikini or not, I'm cool with me.
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