Over a dozen women came together this weekend to celebrate body confidence and self-acceptance with a Lake District dip.
Women aged 40 and over gathered at Crummock Water on Friday, Saturday September 26, as part of the Accepting Who We Are campaign, which aims to challenge ageism and help women in midlife live confidently.
Launched earlier this year by model and body confidence activist Rachel Peru, and model and self-employed businesswoman Tina Boden, the campaign was born from their desire to rewrite the narrative on midlife.
Alongside helping women build confidence and celebrate beauty in all bodies, the AWWA movement is shining a light on the underrepresentation of women in midlife in fashion and swimwear marketing.
The Lake District dip event is the latest to take place in the UK, following on from events in Scarborough and Filey and many women attending had never worn a swimsuit in public before.
Author and wild swimmer Sara Barnes, 63, of Cockermouth, Cumbrian ambassador for the campaign, said 16 women attended and that the event was a great success.
She said: “What they’re trying to do is not only encourage women to get out there and be more body confident, but to encourage brands to use older women when they’re marketing their swimwear and lingerie.
“Rachel and Tina have organised these swims so that women who’ve maybe never dared wear a swimsuit in public before can come together in a safe space on a public beach and have photos taken of them and they’ve gone away and felt amazing.
“It’s a celebration and get to together of like minded women who are aging beautifully and it’s about coming back to life when you think you’ve gone beige and grey.
“All 16 of us went in the water. We started as strangers and ended as friends. People came from York, Scarborough, Filey, Penrith, Lancaster and North Wales!”
Each event is also photographed, which has allowed the movement to create a gallery of real women embracing their bodies at every stage of life.
Sara said: “It is an exposing experience, but there’s no better way to accept yourself than seeing your body in a bathing suit and getting your photo taken.
“It can feel vulnerable and many of the women coming have never done something like this before, and that comes with a lot of fear, so wellbeing and mental health wise events like these are really important.
“It’s about accepting our bodies for what they can do and not what clothes they can squeeze into.”
Sara added that she felt self-acceptance was now more important than ever before with the rising popularity of weight loss jabs and drugs.
She said: “It’s amazing how things have come a full circle with the desire for weight loss, a lot of people are taking these things now and it’s not going to go away.
“But it’s healthy to be your body’s natural weight and to accept what it is.
“There are all these negative messages and stories out there and that you tell yourself or that others tell you through your life about body image and I’m 63, and it’s only in the last three to four years that I’ve thought actually, you’re alright!
“It’s hard and heart-breaking and it does affect you for years, it impacts your self confidence, the clothes you wear, your relationships, everything.
“You have to develop a very strong inner strength to say I am okay and I am me and this body is the only one I’ve got and how can I learn to accept it.”
Sara said that while it can be intimidating to get outside and swim, for everyone who takes part, it was a liberating experience.
She added: “For a lot of people who’ve never done it, they find themselves thinking is my swimsuit okay, will my tummy look big, will people look at my legs or see my cellulite, and all those details.
“But it’s about getting out of your head and into your body and you’ve just got to take a breath and fell water and it doesn’t matter what my body feels like.
“I’m very happy to go with people and I’m always doing that, if I’m out for a swim and see somebody I’ll ask them if they want to come for a swim.
“I had a 69-year-old lady strip down to her bra and knickers and come in for a swim with me and she was absolutely delighted because she had wanted to do it for a very long time.”
To find out about future AWWA events, visit its website or get in touch with Sara via Instagram here to find out more about wild swimming.
Sara has also published two books on wild swimming including The Cold Fix and a fiction novel The Winter of Our Lives.
