It’s bikini season.

Two words certain to strike fear into the heart of pretty much any woman.

Being too skinny, too fat, too curvy or too insert-adjective-here has always been a tender topic. But we have tended to talk about body image as an issue for non-feminists — as in, how can feminists help women get over their hang-ups? — without talking about it in personal terms.

I should know — I cycle, run, practise yoga regularly, and look and feel good. But guess what?  The idea of buying a bathing suit starts the engine of socially conditioned self-doubt — my thighs are too jiggly, my gut a bit too soft. And, all of sudden, I’m considering signing up for boot camp.

And it’s not just me. Several friends (feminist, too!) have signed up for all manner of classes with flowery, pandering names like Flirtygirl Fabulously Firm or BootyCamp. The only thing missing is a pink cosmopolitan after the workout.

Am I betraying my feminist sensibilities? Magazine cover models are Photoshopped to hell. Being too skinny is unhealthy. I fear I’m perpetuating an artificially created standard for women by wanting to look a certain way.

My mind and body are at war.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s one thing to affirm in our heads that we’re fine just the way we are, but it’s another to know it in our hearts — and that’s as true for feminist women as it is for women who would never define themselves using the F-word.

Coming to terms with this may prove to be harder than any amount of pull-ups or push-ups.