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Why We Should Stop Using the Term “Bikini Body”

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCF chapter.

With spring break less than two weeks away, I’ve noticed a lot of girls at UCF saying that they want a “bikini body.” A quick Google search of the term bikini body will give you countless articles featuring workouts and diets to follow. There are videos all over YouTube about how to get a bikini body and a Google Image search of the words bikini body will show a thousand different women but only one body type.

The term bikini body perpetuates the idea that only one type of body is suitable for the viewing of the general public, and that all other body types should be hidden. It does not promote body confidence or positivity in any way. All it does is make women strive to look a certain way, that may or may not even be realistic for them to achieve.

Here’s the truth ladies: IF YOU HAVE A BODY, THEN YOU HAVE A BIKINI BODY. Your body was created to run and splash in the water and sit in the sand, not to be looked at and judged. Your body is yours and yours alone, and nobody has the right to judge it. Not the media, not other people, not even yourself. As long as you are healthy then you have a body to be proud of.

So here are the real steps to getting a bikini body:

How to get a bikini body

Step 1- Have a body.

Step 2- Put it in a bikini

Step 3- Have an awesome time 

Jillian James is a senior at the University of Central Florida. She is majoring in Writing and Rhetoric and minoring in Mass Communication (because apparently you can’t minor in Beyoncé studies). Her favorite food is free because she is a college student and the two loves of her life are Ben and Jerry (of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream fame). If she’s not writing or reading she is probably watching The Office or waiting in line at Starbucks. She loves to show off her dance moves in “inappropriate” places like the grocery store. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @Jillianrosej, where she frequently posts things that make people think that she has her life together. 
UCF Contributor