Y’all must’ve been mistaking if you thought we weren’t capitalizing on National Bikini Day. Hollywood’s known for pushing the limits, but has this unique bathing suit trend gone too far? Hailey Bieber blessed the Instagram gods with a seashell bikini, and instead of a legitimate discussion about the implications of beauty standards and body image, what do we get? Just another episode of the vapid mainstream media circus, with outlets like CNN and E! jumping on the sheer absurdity of the trend for clicks.

Let’s be real here—what are we actually celebrating? A celebrity wearing an impractical, albeit *distracting* piece of fabric? CNN might frame this as empowerment, but really, it’s nothing more than a glorified distraction from critical issues that actually matter. Meanwhile, Fox News can’t resist the urge to sensationalize it with headlines that frame it as a triumph of “feminine freedom.” Give me a break! You think women fighting for equality care about who can rock a seashell? It’s a shallow commentary on a culture obsessed with aesthetics.

In a world grappling with real challenges—economic downturns, societal division—this is the best we can do? The same corporate media that tells us to support “body positivity” is quick to put women in boxes labeled “hot” or “not” based on a bikini pic. It’s time we demand better than this dime-store philosophy masquerading as empowerment. If we’re not carelessly consuming images, then are we even living? Think about it.