“Hot girl summer, hot girl summer.”
Anyone else tired of hearing this phrase? I feel like that’s all anyone is talking about now that we are “mostly” out of quarantine. As for me, I’m strictly “mom bod summer,” FUPA and all.
Until a year or so ago, I didn’t even know that FUPA stood for fat upper pubic area. To me, it was just a muffin top. And thanks to COVID, no one got close enough to care what I looked like.
Thanks to Beyoncé and TikTok, my ignored muffin top is now on every meme and what every diet and exercise is targeting. And anyone who has ever tried to target weight loss, especially the belly area, knows how futile that is.
As women, we are constantly being bombarded with diet culture and exercise. The double standard for women to always look put together and fit while men get to age has long been unfair.
Why is it that men can sport their “dad bod,” potbelly and all, and no one blinks? Meanwhile, women, regardless of their age and life journey, are pitted against supermodels and found lacking? The diet and beauty industry combined have a net worth of over $150 million a year!
Am I the only one left who remembers how Mrs. Brady and Mrs. Huxtable looked? They rocked their mom bods, and I don’t remember them ever being on a diet. In fact, both always sat at the diner table and ate meals with their family and never mentioned working out. When did the tide turn that moms had to have hot bods? Why can’t we honor our bodies and focus on our mental and emotional health?
After the year we’ve had, I plan on rocking my mom bod at the beach and pool, bathing suit and all. I will be in all the pictures, at all the events, and probably looking like a hot mess express with a smile on my face.
