Sun, Sex, and Size 10
Hello!
This one is going to be a little bit of everything. As you know, I'm in Greece as you read this and, despite my best efforts, I'm actually in Greece as I write this!
Summertime is usually a source of anxiety for me because my skin burns very easily, I am rather susceptible to heat stroke, and I feel anxious about the smaller clothing. This year, I've noticed a little bit of a change. This year I've gone back down to my natural clothing size, the good old UK size 10. Last year, I was on a form of contraception that made me gain a lot of weight so I was wearing a size 14. On me, it didn't look right, clothes didn't fit right, and I felt extremely unhappy. This year, everything I've bought for summer has been a 10 and I feel genuinely great about that. I feel comfortable in my clothes and I'm going to make a real effort to remember this feeling whenever those moments of insecurity hit me.
It's a bit ridiculous really, focusing on that little number 10 because only I know what size my clothes are unless I tell someone. No one goes up to someone else and goes "I love your top, what size is it?" Because that would be ridiculous and I know that I shouldn't obsess over it. Besides, I might cut out the label and completely forget what size it was! But I also know that it's important to recognise the victories of anxiety and feeling comfortable in a size 10 is one of mine so that's great I guess!
The whole body image/clothing size thing is kind of relevant to how I feel about sex and I will talk about that soon. I kind of feel the need to say that because I see you all clicking on the "sex" tag, you prurient lot! But I recognise we don't talk about it in a healthy way enough so I will do that.
All this being said, summer clothing is about temperature. There's no such thing as a "bikini body" as bikinis, much like the rest of summer clothing are functional. They're functional for every size. I think maybe we should all start thinking of our clothes in terms of comfort and functionality rather than their size and slimming properties.
And on that note, I'll leave it there and I'll be back to business once I've left Greece!
Lots of Love,
Sarah xxx
