We’ve all heard it: “Are you beach body ready?” Behind the not-so-harmless/definitely-harmful advertising slogans lies a mess of contradictions, expectations, and double standards, especially for women. In this third episode of Overthinking Summer, we discuss the paradox of the “summer body,” from the pressure to be effortlessly beautiful and a good feminist, to the dilemma between self-love and societal standards.

Can you wear makeup just for yourself? Is shaving your legs a betrayal of your values? And what does it really mean to make choices for yourself in a world that’s already decided what you should look like?

We explore how beauty ideals are shaped by whiteness, how internalised standards affect us, and why real feminism isn’t about rejecting everything but about reclaiming our agency.