Swimsuits

That time again…

Bathing suit season: Three words to strike horror in the minds of most American women. It’s a lot to do with how we want to look in the suit compared to how we do look. It’s partly the impossible standards we compare ourselves to. It’s partly that we notice the unsightly first and foremost. It’s partly that the makers of said suits are not considering the average woman when designing. It is also frustrating because to be so small in the usage of material they can be quite expensive. And this year I have a whole new level of anxiety because I have a couple of other bathing suits to buy that I won’t be wearing.

My 14 year old and (will be in June) 13 year old will also need new bathing suits this year. In years past I haven’t been as concerned with their choices because they still looked like girls. Not so this year. As they have the fun new curves that come with this age I have a whole new dilemma with swimsuit attire. They will, I am sure, look good in the swimsuits available. It won’t be a matter of finding one that looks attractive or flattering as it might be for me. It will be a matter of finding one that covers everything I think needs to be covered and yet doesn’t look like their 40 year old mother picked it out or could wear it.

There’s a certain naiveté at this age, at least for my girls, where they don’t quite understand yet the power of the new curves. There is a slight awareness that the opposite gender is sometimes sizing them up, or throwing things at them, or insulting them to get their attention, but we’re in that awkward: you are not a girl but not yet a woman stage. So I get to maneuver through the explanations of the need for modesty trying to emphasize without overstating the male preoccupation with female bodies and sex. To be honest if it were a female only pool, they could wear the itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, yellow polka dot bikini. But it’s not. So as a female I get to try and explain what is foreign to me.

I mean if I see a guy in his swim trunks, I will notice if he looks nice. I will probably notice if he works out and has nice pectoral muscles or defined abs, but that will be the end of it. I would have a similar reaction to a woman in a bathing suit. I would have an observation of the body type, whether or not the cut is flattering, and then move on. Apparently this is not as easy for those guys out there.

So how do I explain, yes dear you look smashing in that bathing suit which is precisely why we are NOT buying it. Don’t worry in years to come you won’t look so good and then you can buy whatever you want. ☺

Sooo, if you are reading and do not have to buy for young teenage girls, maybe that can be your consolation in your shopping for swimsuits.