#Fatkini: Why I Don't Wear Bikinis

There is a Twitter movement called #fatkini wherein not-very-in-shape women take pictures of themselves wearing bikinis.  It is being touted as a fantastic movement of self-love and combating bad body image.  You will not being seeing me on the #fatkini.  And here's why.

I do not wear bikinis.  It is not because I am ashamed of the way my body looks.  It is not because I am afraid of what people would think of my body.  It's because I love the way my body looks and believe that it is too beautiful for such careless treatment.

Modesty, for me, is a complex issue.  But the number one aspect, I believe, is that our bodies are the image of God.  They are the epitome of beauty.   They are genius.  And to say that if you love your body you have to show it off is ridiculous.  There is beauty is silence and respect for beauty in guarding that beauty.  When I take off my clothes to shower, I am not ashamed of what I see.  I love my body.  But I also believe that the beauty of my body is for me and my future husband.  Not for the entire world.

The world's current approach to modesty is disturbing and quite aggravating.  It used to be that if you covered up, you were simply a prude.  It wasn't a positive image, but at least it was more neutral.  Now, if you are modest in your clothing, you are less than a prude.  You are someone who is ashamed of the way they look.  You are oppressed.  You are insecure.  You need to be freed from some imagined prison.

I would posit that I am more free.  I am more secure.  I am liberated by the knowledge that my body is beautiful, and I don't need people to see it for it to be beautiful and precious.  I hold it higher in my soul than something for everyone to gawk at.

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