It's spring again (and the "summer body" noise is back)

It's officially spring. The days are getting longer, the light is changing, and, almost on cue, the familiar noise is creeping back in.

"Get ready for summer."

"Summer bodies are made now."

"Time to tone up."

"Beach body season is coming."

It feels like only yesterday I was talking about new year, new me nonsense. About fresh starts, resolutions, and the quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) pressure to shrink ourselves into better, more acceptable versions by January. And yet here we are again. Different season. Same message.

I'm short on time today, so this will be a short post. But it's one I think we need.

Your body is fine. Just as it is.

Not in a performative, Instagram-caption way. Not in a "say it three times in the mirror and maybe you'll believe it" way. But in a very real, grounded, political way.

Because this isn't just about "loving your body" or "wearing the damn shorts". It's not about confidence as an individual personality trait. And it's certainly not about forcing yourself to feel positive about your body every single day.

This is about taking up space.

It's about not investing your limited time, money, and energy into chasing an appearance ideal that shifts with the seasons and was never designed for most of us to reach in the first place. It's about recognising that there are far more important things we could be doing with our lives right now than preparing our bodies for public consumption.

It's also about responsibility, and that responsibility doesn't sit with individuals alone. We all have a role to play in this. In not commenting on other people's bodies. In not framing weight loss as a compliment or fitness as something you can see. In not making assumptions about health, discipline, or worth based on how someone looks.

And beyond individual behaviour, it's about the environments we create and maintain. Because telling people to "just be confident" in spaces that are actively exclusive doesn't work. Confidence doesn't make gym equipment more accessible. It doesn't widen seats, expand clothing size ranges, or undo decades of stigma. Inclusive environments do.

So as the marketing ramps up, as brands dust off their lazy, outdated "summer body" campaigns and repackage the same old messages, I want to offer a gentle reminder.

You don't owe anyone a smaller body for summer. You don't owe anyone "progress". You don't owe anyone proof of health, discipline, or self-care.

And we don't need another season built on body anxiety to sell products.

What we do need are spaces — physical, social, and cultural — that allow people to exist, move, rest, and live without apology. Spaces that don't rely on exclusion to feel aspirational. Spaces that don't treat bodies as projects or problems to be fixed before they're allowed to be seen.

So yes, it's spring again. And yes, the noise is back.

But you don't have to tune in.

That's all for now—thank you for being here and for making a commitment to make movement spaces more inclusive for all bodies!

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