Every summer, the phrase “beach body” quietly returns as caption, compliment, warning, and threat. Suddenly, bodies become projects again. Group chats turn into crash-diet discussions. Wellness morphs into surveillance. And beauty standards re-emerge disguised as discipline, self-improvement, and “confidence.”
The beach body has always been an aspirational target. From skinny worship 20 years ago to fitmaxxing in today’s lingo, the words have only changed, but the expectation remains the same—that women must punish themselves to prepare their bodies for summer.
But perhaps the most radical thing women can do for their bodies is not to force change, it is to resist change altogether. Because the body you have now is not a placeholder for something better; it’s not a rough draft waiting for the perfect template.
Dookie Ducay
As our three muses Justine Llarena, Kahlea Belonia, and Teodora Cordial show, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain in embracing a body that has carried them through moments of transformation, from womanhood to motherhood. Each of these bodies is a temple of a person whose strength and grace will never be diminished when a bikini enters the picture.
The irony of the “beach body” is that it was never really about the beach. It became a social checkpoint, a seasonal reminder of who gets rewarded for visibility and who gets told to shrink before stepping into the sun.
Bodies do not need to qualify for visibility, because bodies were never meant to be seasonal. They were always meant to exist fully, publicly, and without permission.
Breaking free
Dookie Ducay
Models Belonia, Cordial, and Llarena bare their curves, stretch marks, and skin with confidence, reminding us that it is time to free ourselves from outdated molds and dismantle the cycle of impossible body ideals. Because we can only grow, evolve, and become better when we move beyond standards that no longer belong in today’s world.
No body rules
Dookie Ducay
Numbers on a scale, lines on a tape measure, and shades of skin are not measures of someone’s worth. No single size, shape, or standard should define the rules of beauty. Because the language we should speak should not be punitive to the very vessels that allow us to move, feel, and experience the beauty of life.
Art direction and beauty direction by Nicole Almero and Sacha Mancera. Photography by Dookie Ducay, assisted by Byron De Guzman, Sean Francisco, and Lou Fajardo. Makeup by Jigs Mayuga. Hair by Jan Edrosolan. Styling by Gee Jocson, assisted by Yen Noche. Modeled by Justine Llarena, Teodora Cordial, and Kahlea Belonia. Shot on location at The Westin Manila.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means no body must meet a size, shape, or skin-tone requirement before wearing a swimsuit. Visibility is a default right, not a reward for meeting a standard.
Because it works as a seasonal social checkpoint. The language shifts—skinny worship then, fitmaxxing now—but the demand to shrink before summer stays exactly the same.
Wellness language often repackages old beauty standards as discipline, readiness, or confidence, turning bodies into projects. The editorial argues the body was never the problem; the standard was.
Kahlea Belonia, Teodora Cordial, and Justine Llarena, photographed by Dookie Ducay at The Westin Manila, baring curves, stretch marks, and skin without editing toward one ideal.
No. The editorial separates caring for a body from punishing it to meet a summer deadline. It targets the “shrink before the beach” expectation, not health itself.
