Amy Bigbee Grosso, PhD

A few weeks ago, after a wonderful time on a Disney Cruise, my sister encouraged me to post a picture to Jennifer Weiner‘s campaign #‎weartheswimsuit‬. My sister explained Jennifer Weiner was encouraging woman to post pictures in swimsuits and post pictures. The reason being, the more pictures girls and others see of “normal” women in swimsuits will help to offset the “idealized” women in the media. The day my sister told me about it, Jennifer Weiner was on Good Morning America about her campaign to get women to wear their swimsuits.

So I posted a picture. I posted a picture of me playing with my fantastic son on the splash pad in Castaway Cay. I added the text: “I’m learning to love my post baby body. It is a different body but yet the same body as when I was younger. I want my son to know all bodies are beautiful. #‎weartheswimsuit‬”

It might seem like a small thing to post, but almost everyday since I posted the picture, I have thought about it. I have thought about my struggle to love my new body. I have struggled to know how to not long for a body that is no more.

Ever since I was little, my identity was being the little one. It was a mark of pride that I could eat anything and stay small. Part of my being was my small waist. I am not sure I really thought about it much until I had my son and my body slowly changed. I didn’t notice it until I realized the only way to get my body back was to starve myself and that probably wouldn’t work, since having a baby widens hips of a woman who never had hips!

Even more than wanting to learn to love my new body, I want my son to know that beauty is not about his mom’s waist size. Often we emphasis moms being a good example to their daughters about body image, but I think it is equally important to be that example to our sons. If men are not obsessed with women’s waist size, it will impact women. And just as important, is my son having a dad who doesn’t obsess about physical beauty.

Although it might appear as a random post one day of a picture, for me the posting of the picture was so much more. #‎weartheswimsuit‬ was a small step in me not only accepting, but also loving my new body. Jennifer Weiner thank you for being the catalyst for this important journey.