Tara Jane Style

My niece is now the age I was when I first started noticing that my body was larger than my friends. At pool parties (especially co-ed ones) I would either stay under water as long as I could, then bolt out of the pool hoping no one saw me before I was wrapped in a towel, or worse, not do something that gives me joy (swim) and sit on the side wearing a cover-up.

For 25 years I’ve battled my insecurity and hatred of my swimsuit body.

Twenty. Five. Years.

How I wish 13 year old me would have had the swimsuit options I have now or been able to see Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editions with curvy models like Ashley Graham and Hunter McGrady.

I also wish the adult women in my life knew how beautiful they were at every size and didn’t suffer from their own body insecurities. As hard as it probably is for them to hear, being exposed to their negative self talk was a big factor in teaching me that my size played a factor in my worth as a person.

But 38 year old Tara is not taking the body positive movement for granted and I’m doing whatever I can to help break the cycle. I’m battling my own self talk, I’m forcing myself to hang out near the water without a cover up, and I’m taking and sharing photos in swimsuits on the internet to normalize wearing a swimsuit no matter what size you are.

My challenge to you is to wear the swimsuit. To not cover up in front of the pre-teen and teen girls. To help stop the cycle of self hatred.

❌ Don’t teach them to be ashamed of their body by covering yours.
❌ Don’t talk about how you shouldn’t have eaten xyz because now you’re “too bloated” to be in a swimsuit.
❌ Don’t talk about how you need to go on a crash diet before a vacation to be able to wear a swimsuit.

Every body wearing a swimsuit is a fucking swimsuit body.

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You can read more of my self confidence journey here.

XOXO, Tara