'Bikini Body' Dies A Death After Women's Health Axes It From Front Cover - It Won't Be Missed | HuffPost Life

'Bikini Body' Phrase Dies A Welcome Death After Being Axed From Women's Health

Poorna Bell— The Huffington Post UK

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Here at HuffPost UK Lifestyle, the term 'bikini body' is banned.

The phrase, which is a battle cry for women to put away the wine glasses and get in shape for the summer, sums up everything we hate about the pressures exacted on women's bodies and the standardised ideal of beauty.

So well done Women's Health US, for stating that they will no longer use the phrase on its front cover, along with the words 'diet' and 'shrink'.

In a piece titled: 'Peace Out, 'Bikini Body'—We're Kicking You Off of Our Covers for Good', US editor-in-chief Amy Keller Laird wrote about why she decided to make the cut after asking her readers what they did and didn't want to see on the cover.

"You told us you don’t love the words shrink and diet, and we’re happy to say we kicked those to the cover curb ourselves over the past year. But we’re still using two other phrases—“Bikini Body” and “Drop Two Sizes”—that you want retired. Since our goal is always to pump you up, and never to make you feel bad, here’s our pledge: They’re gone."

SEE ALSO:
Plus-Size Model Delivers Perfect Response To 'Beach Body' Advert
This Proves There Is No Such Thing As A 'Bikini Body'
Can We Please Stop With This Bikini Body B*llocks?https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/poorna-bell/bikini-body-diets_b_5428174.html

She also included a Dear John letter to the term bikini body, writing:

"You’re actually a misnomer, not to mention an unintentional insult: You imply that a body must be a certain size in order to wear a two-piece. Any body—every body—is a bikini body. You’ve got a shaming, negative undertone that’s become more than annoying.

"Listen, rocking a bikini does require confidence, but we’d rather focus on the greater benefits of getting a strong-as-hell core: running, surfing, dancing, climbing, being able to carry a 2-year-old up and down the stairs 10 times a day.

"When one reader said, “I hate how women’s magazines emphasize being skinny or wearing bikinis as the reason to be healthy,” it became so clear: We never want to be that type of women's magazine. So, “Bikini Body,” see ya. Wouldn’t wanna be ya."

Her post had a lovely response on Twitter - here are some of the responses:

Right on, sister.

Celeb Bikini Pre-1970

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1955: American actor Mitzi Gaynor, wearing a bikini, holds a volleyball over her head on a beach in a full-length promotional portrait for director Robert Lewis's film, 'Anything Goes'. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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1964: Anny Duperey at the Cannes Film Festival. 1964. HA-2051-4. (Photo by Roger Viollet/Getty Images)

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English actress Shirley Eaton relaxes on board a yacht, circa 1960. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) irley Eaton relaxes on board a yacht, circa 1960. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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French actresses Estelle Blair and Nadine Tallier (the future Baroness Rothschild) wearing bikinis at the Cannes Film Festival, 9th May 1958. (Photo by RDA/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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American actress Barbara Eden, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Model Peggy Ray, dressed in a strapless bikini and a straw hat, sits cross-legged on the floor with a piece of straw in her mouth, 1950s. (Photo by Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images)

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American actress Janet Blair (1921 - 2007), circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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American actress Ava Gardner (1922 - 1990) relaxing in a deckchair, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(09 of39)

American actress and dancer Cyd Charisse in a leopard-skin bikini, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Burlesque dancer Lonnie Young in a bikini decorated with flowers, circa 1950. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Janet Blair (1921-2007), US actress, wearing a green bikini while sitting on a sunlounger, circa 1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

(12 of39)

American actress Sue Lyon, earing a strapless, striped bikini and holding Lolita sunglasses, portrayed while lying on a gondola, Venice, 1962. (Photo by Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty Images)

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American pin-up model Bettie Page (1923) - 2008), in heels and a bikini, poses on a circular table in a photo studio in front of flat studio background paper, mid 1950s. (Photo by Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images)

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Ursula Andress standing in the water wearing a bikini in a scene from the film 'James Bond: Dr. No', 1962. (Photo by United Artist/Getty Images)

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1955: Film actress Joan Collins enjoying a sail in the sunshine of the Pacific. She is in Hollywood to play Bess Throckmorton, one of Elizabeth I's maids of honour in 'The Virgin Queen'. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Honor Blackman standing on the beach wearing a bikini in a scene from the film 'Goldfinger', 1964. (Photo by United Artist/Getty Images)

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Half length portrait of Gabriella Licudi, Moroccan-born British actress, wearing a polka dot bikini and a beach hat in a studio portrait, against a white background, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Jeanne Moreau, French actress, wearing a diamond print pattern bikini and matching blouse, smiling as she poses by the wheel of a boat, with her arms reaching up over her head, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress Ann Sheridan (1915 - 1967) playing badminton in a pink bikini, circa 1948. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress Gale Storm (1922 - 2009) in a two-piece swimming costume, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American singer and actress Shirley Jones in a two-piece, polka-dot outfit, circa 1960. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress Edy Williams posing in a bikini, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress, dancer, and singer Joey Heatherton, posing in a white negligee and a polka-dot bikini, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress Yvonne Craig wearing a bikini and lying on a diving board, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress Jeanne Crain (1925 - 2003) wearing a bikini at the beach, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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5th December 1944: Actress Ava Gardner (1922 - 1990) lounges on the beach in a spotted bikini. (Photo by Clarence Sinclair Bull/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)

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American actress Barbara Stanwyck (1907 - 1990) reclines on a diving board, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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American actress June Haver (1926 - 2005, right) modeling a black bikini for a sceptical friend, circa 1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

(29 of39)

Model Patricia Parker dances in a bikini on a beach, 1940s or 1950s. (Photo by Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images)

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American singer and actress Shirley Jones sitting on a diving board in a red and white polka-dot bikini, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Jane Greer (1924-2001), US actress, poses smiling, in a pink-and-white bikini, as she lays on a diving board over a swimming pool, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Circa 1955, Portrait of American actor and singer Debbie Reynolds wearing a two-piece swimsuit while leaning against a wooden pier post on a beach, 1950s. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

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American actress and singer Abbe Lane lying down on the foreshore of Lido beach in Venice, wearing a striped strapless bikini, Venice 1956. (Photo by Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty Images)

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German actress Elke Sommer wearing a bikini on a beach, circa 1963. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Full-length shot of Sandra Dee (1942-2005), US actress, wearing a white bikini with purple polka dots in a studio portrait, against a white background, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Full-length shot of Linda Harrison, US actress and model, wearing a black-and-white tiger print bikini, posing in front of a stack of wooden barrels, circa 1965. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Full-length portrait of American actor Julie Newmar wearing a polka dotted bikini, 1960s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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American actress and singer Jane Wyman (1917 - 2007), leaning on a swing and wearing a white, two-piece swimsuit and headscarf, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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American actress Noel Neill sitting on a diving board in a two-piece, frilled bathing costume, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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