Actually “Having Fun In The Summer Sun”
July 10, 2020
Having a great time in the summer sun!
That should be the caption.
That should be the end of the post.
So why aren’t we there yet?
Why is it that we feel we need to explain away our bodies and how worthy they are of such simple joys of life?
We’ve been sold and packaged the same thing over and over, with variations for decades.
Now it’s 2020 and we’re seeing something new. Actually, a lot of new. We’re seeing more than one thing represented. We’re seeing it displayed in advertising and in real life. Long ways to go…but it’s come so far, and fast by the demands of us, the consumers.
So why’s it still feel like a surprise or a shock when we see body normalicies?
Well, because we’re still combating decades and over-saturation of something else.
When I was a kid, orange Tictacs were orange on the outside.
It doesn’t matter how many years have passed, every time I see them all white, I say:
“remember when they used to be orange?”. Because it’s ingrained in my childhood and my memories.
I think that will continue to happen, unless you’re of the generation that never saw the orange on the outside, therefore never knowing any different.
What’s that got to do with this?
Well for one, now I fancy orange Tictacs.
And two, it explains the importance of continuation, saturation and change.
That one day, if we continue making efforts, continue to show up, continue to push back against the decades of something different, a generation will come that will not have known the days we introduced and felt shame for the normalcies of the skin and of the body.
They will spend their days existing in their ever-changing bodies, take pictures and caption them:
“Having a great time in the summer sun!”
And that will be the post.
