If you follow the Nude Swim Bar Instagram page, by now you know that we started this line to promote self-love and confidence while wearing swimwear. We judge ourselves so critically about every minor detail, but this isn’t our fault. It’s no secret that beauty companies profit billions of dollars from of our insecurities, and somehow, we feed into it anyways. I know there’s pressure and it’s tough, but change starts with loving ourselves the way we are right now.
Many of you may think I would be disappointed to see swimwear being replaced with active wear in the Miss Teen USA competition. I’m not. The idea of judging teens side by side in swimwear is not healthy for society or any of the young impressionable women watching. We judge ourselves against perfectly airbrushed models, and this portion of the competition was exemplifying that this was normal and ok. It is not. When you go to the beach, you are at your most vulnerable in swimwear. This decision is progressive-ish but we need to eliminate body comparisons entirely especially with this age group.
Congrats Miss Teen USA, you started the conversation and got some great media attention, but you’re not done yet. You are still judging some of the most trivial things under a microscope. It doesn’t matter how you dress this up, you are still hurting young women for ratings. You think judging in swimsuits is out-dated? Here’s something outdated: pageants.