Every year, like clockwork, I find myself desiring a “summer glow-up” — as if my worth hinges on how I’ll look when May comes. In a way, it’s almost inescapable. Many content creators focus their content on becoming “hot” before the start of the summer. Due to this, most women constantly feel pressured to start a glow-up journey around this time of the year. I guess the question I am proposing is this: Is this trend harmful to women?
While the idea of self-improvement is appealing, the toxic pressure to change your appearance by summertime often does more harm than good. Even though focusing on your health is beneficial and the encouragement can help you achieve your goals, this does not take away from the harm it can do.
Despite the possible physical benefits it may bring, glow-up culture often takes a toll on mental health. Although it is possible to be done right and improve your life, many women do not need to change themselves before the summer. On top of this, with finals and numerous other priorities, it can be difficult to focus on changing your appearance in a short amount of time. This means that when women do not see results immediately, they often get discouraged and insecure, which in turn, negatively affects their mental well-being.
This constant need to change your appearance and become “better” could worsen your circumstances. Harmful dieting or any other extreme measures could possibly harm your physical health. I too have once been a victim of intense dieting and obsessively working out. From my experience, I’d say this typically does not end well. These expectations that we put on ourselves to look “better” could result in applying the worst ways to achieve these results into our lives.
As previously mentioned, I don’t necessarily see anything wrong with improving your physical health and appearance. In fact, I encourage it. But what I do not encourage is the “quick fix” that comes with glowing-up before summer. If you want to improve your physical health and appearance, you should start slowly and do it in a healthy and efficient way. Despite the non-stop influx of summertime glo-up videos that are popping up on your feed, remember: don’t lose sight of the fact that you are already beautiful and ready for the summer. Also, just because everyone else seems to be changing, this doesn’t mean that you must change as well. In the end, the best summer glow-up isn’t about changing yourself, it’s about embracing who you already are.