Denise Bidot on How Childhood Summers Shaped Her Body Confidence

This story is part of Como Celebramos, in which we're sharing how we're honoring our favorite summertime Sunday rituals.

Denise Bidot spent a lot of time at the beach growing up. Born and raised in Miami, she spent every summer in Puerto Rico, where her family is from. It's no surprise that those afternoons spent by the sparkling ocean were pivotal in shaping who she is now — a model who has appeared in numerous swimsuit campaigns.

"I think for me the places where I've always felt the most beautiful and comfortable were always by the water in a bathing suit," she says. "It was never about the swimsuit, it was about how I felt in it. If I could live in a bikini my whole life, I would."

Bidot knows this isn't the norm for everyone, given our society's persistent ideals around body size. But that's why she's been an outspoken advocate for body inclusivity throughout her career — her background is precisely what's allowed her to cast away those unrealistic standards.

"I come from a really strong Latina family that pretty much always walked around in underwear in the house. You'd see big butts and cellulite and drop boobs and things that we're not always exposed to, but they were powerful women and their bodies didn't make that or break that," Bidot says. "So I think I always just grew up seeing women of all shapes and sizes just be beautiful and unapologetic, and by seeing it, I felt it."

This inner confidence is refreshing for someone in an industry that puts a premium on the physical. But it's clear that's why Bidot has become the success she is. About a decade ago, she helped launch the "no wrong way to be a woman" body-positive movement when she starred in the "Beach Body. Not Sorry." campaign with the inclusive swimsuit brand Swimsuits For All. Bidot says the shoot wasn't necessarily intended to be groundbreaking, but after seeing the images, the brand approached her to ask if they could run them unretouched.

"I really had to look at myself in the mirror and be like, 'You've been talking about body positivity, but this is really a moment to walk the walk,'" she remembers. The photos ran unretouched, to much celebration and praise. It's a special moment for Bidot to look back on now, given that she just partnered with Swimsuits For All again for a nationwide search aimed at discovering emerging swimsuit models. Bidot's favorite part of the collaboration has been mentoring the models that she hand-selected, who all happen to be women of color. The whole experience is a stark departure from the industry that Bidot came up in.

"If I had a friend who was a brunette Latina, or even just a brunette, we were never going to work the same job together. We were all fighting for one spot," she says. "I still think there's a lot of room to be made in that department, because it still does ring true that if someone is looking to cast a project, they would feel like they need to check off certain boxes instead of just selecting the best girl for the job. But women are women, and we're beautiful at all shapes and sizes and ages. Let's all shine in our own elements."

There has, in recent years, seemed to be a bit more space for us to all shine. But on the body-positivity front, some folks have been lamenting what they see as a pendulum swing back to unrealistic ideals thanks to the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. For Bidot, the biggest concern is that these drugs aren't being used or prescribed properly. But whether or not someone "goes from a size 10 to a 14 or a 14 to a 10, I just want to support the girl in making sure she feels her best," she says. "That's her journey."

The recent shift is a reminder that body talk in general can be harmful. Bidot says she experienced this a lot when she lost "a bunch of weight" a couple years ago. It wasn't intentional; she was "really not in a great space mentally, a little depressed after a breakup," Bidot says. Meanwhile, the world "praised" the changes.

"And I remember just wanting to tell people, 'I'm sad. I'm not happy. I don't feel beautiful right now,'" she remembers. "But for some reason, we think that because people lost weight, they're happier or it was done intentionally. As someone who has definitely felt the scrutiny of dropping weight, it's not always what people think."

The takeaway is that it's not anyone's place to comment on someone else's body. It's an important message Bidot is imparting on her daughter, who's 16 — such an "impressionable and vulnerable" time for teen girls, who often contend with body-image pressures. Just as the Latina women in her family paved the way for her own body acceptance and confidence, Bidot is trying to lead by example.

"Just by my lifestyle and the way I live, I think I've shown her what body positivity is. And I think she's really just grown up as a strong, confident girl," Bidot says. Still, they've had to have explicit conversations about their bodies. "In like fourth grade, she was in a very white school in LA, and she was like, 'Mom, how do I get my thighs to be this small?'" Bidot says. "And I had to look at her and be like, 'Baby, we have a very different body composition. It doesn't matter what you do, it's never going to be that.'"

It all comes back to knowing where you come from and who you are. Bidot still remembers summers in Miami and Puerto Rico, where "people naturally wear less clothes, whether you're small or big — it's just hot, so you have to put on what works."

It's important to keep that culture alive, Bidot says. "When you see it, you can feel it: it's like, OK, she has a body like me. If she's not scared, I can not be scared."

Lena Felton is the director of special content at PS, where she oversees features and special projects. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Post, where she led a team covering issues of gender and identity. She has six years of experience in journalism during which her focus has been feature writing and editing as well as spearheading projects you won't find anywhere else.