By Michelle October; photography by Casey Crafford; videography by Megan Flemmit
“Being in a bikini is more comfortable… I feel confident”
It’s bikini weather — but for some of us (flabby tummies or not), sun’s out does not mean bum’s out. Results from the Women’s Health Global Naked Survey show that an overwhelming 85% of women are NOT confident in a bikini. We repeat: you DO NOT feel comfy in your own skin if it’s not all covered up. Clearly, something’s gotta give.
Find Your Voice
Bejancke Della is a beach and indoor volleyball player for UWC, and yes, she needs to wear a bikini to compete. But she’s also naturally shy and had major body image issues for a long time. Despite the fact that she captains the beach volleyball team, has travelled widely for her sport, and is a star player, she found that being in a bikini was easier said than done.
Bejancke’s coach decided to make everyone in the squad train in bikinis to boost their confidence. “I felt uncomfortable because I was conscious about my body… Most of us were scared to play in our bikinis and scared of what people would say,” says Bejancke. “When you do running drills, you feel like everything is just jiggling.”
But she told herself it was normal. “I saw older players saying in their bikinis, and I saw how they look, and I thought, ‘No ways, why must I be shy about wearing a bikini when they’re not?’”
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That’s the magic bullet for Bejancke: shifting your perspective from what people think about you to how you physically feel — not when you feel perceived judgements, but rather how it physically feels to move freely in the garment.
Now, her bikini is a second skin, giving her the ability to duck, dash and dive unhindered. “When you play in a bikini, you don’t get hot or anything like that. It’s more comfortable, you can feel the breeze blowing, cooling you down… I feel confident,” she says.
Want more? Here are top tips to tighten and tone for bikini weather, and the bizarre ways women feel uncomfortable about their vaginas.
