Some people might not agree with it, but I use some of that pressure to spur me to live healthier. I use those images of rock hard abs (I am a male) to spur a bit of jealousy, a bit of desire in myself. I carry a couple extra pounds that I could lose. And I think that is okay. I want to live a healthy life with my partner until I am in my 80s or 90s and be mobile. And that requires really concentrating on my body, on my health right now when I am in my 20s. Weight comes with a host of risks, especially when you carry it on your abdomen (that is where mine sits). It increases your chance of diabetes, heart attack and stroke; it increases your chance of heartburn, and a host of other medical conditions. So I use that media to help light that fire concerning health. I do try to keep health and weight separate. I use it to concentrate on exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables, and less about a number on a scale, but the two go hand in hand often and it can become difficult to not just focus on weight. So I have other strategies to help with that.

My partner and I reinforce how sexy we find each other frequently. We make it a goal to really make the other person feel desired, sexy, cute, loved, hot, attractive, and gorgeous, and really go out of our ways to complement each other physically (as well as mentally). And this really provides a boost to your self-confidence and makes it easier to feel good about yourself. When you know your best friend finds you attractive and wants to “rattle your bones,” you feel a lot more comfortable in your own skin. Those over sexualized media images do not become as important, because you are already sexualized and desired by your partner. So we both go out of our way to make each other feel comfortable. And if in the summer there starts to be more media of half-naked people and one of us starts to feel uncomfortable with their looks, then the other really steps it up. During foreplay and actual intercourse the next time we have sex, we will tell each other all the parts we love about each other. “Cute, perky nipples,” “Sexy chest,” “gorgeous hip,” and “muscular arms” are words we use to make each other feel good and that really helps to stay focused on health and be self confident and not concentrate on weight or a waistline.

And then finally sometimes it becomes difficult when you are with friends around a pool and everyone is stripping down to a swimsuit and you start to feel unsure about it. In these instances, I focus on the activity at hand. Think about swimming and having fun. Think about the beach and how you enjoy sun tanning. Think about whatever you are doing and forget about who is around you. When you start to get interested in the activity such as swimming, or beach volleyball, or just sunbathing and you start to have fun, you stop caring about your body image. You are having such a good time it doesn’t matter. So I push myself and take a leap and say, "You know what? I am going to put aside my shyness and self-consciousness for 10 minutes." And by the time those 10 minutes are over, I am typically not having any thoughts of that nature anymore and am just having a fun time.

So that is personally how I respond to increased images focusing on body image during the summer months.