I’ve recently felt inspired to join in on the Body Positivity movement that is sweeping social media right now. I know it’s always been there but it’s not until now that I’m feeling empowered to try and embrace it myself. Today the world of social media is such a powerful source and by exposing your vulnerabilities to thousands of people is both scary but also very comforting and encouraging.
When I joined Instagram all those years ago and my following began to increase, putting myself ‘out there’ with a half dressed, flesh, lumps, bumps and all photograph was the very LAST thing on my agenda. I don’t like my body so why would I in my wildest dreams show off something I dislike so much?
In the last couple of weeks I’ve broken one insecurity barrier by sharing full-length body shots of myself. This may sound pathetic and not a big deal to some but for me this is a BIG DEAL. I’m used to the smiley selfie’s and could keep them up day in and day out, but me standing against a wall ‘posing’ is totally out of my comfort zone. I rarely like what I see.
Having broken that barrier and got such an overwhelming positive response, kind words and reassuring comments it dawned on me how therapeutic showing your vulnerable side can be. Since I’ve begun doing this, during this short time I’ve found that I’m less fussy/ consumed and more importantly less anxious about what I look like. I’ve discovered that having that reassurance fuels my confidence. That can only be a good thing huh?
It doesn’t help that all of the images in magazines are are either airbrushed or size 6 models. Celebrities are considered to have ‘let themselves go’ if they’re not trim, slim and bigger than a size 12! My son Harry asked me the other day if a size 14 was ‘big’ and I said yes. Then I heard myself. Why did I say yes? What makes it a ‘big’ size? Being a size 12-14 in comparison to my size 10 days, to me sounds big. But it’s not about big and small is it? Surely it’s about feeling confident and wearing your size with confidence. Something I’m still learning to do.
I dread shopping for clothes. Dressing this mum bod is hard work. Having worked in the fashion industry, I know that a lot of the high street use size 10 ‘fit’ models, then scale up from there. How can you scale up accordingly from a size 10? For a start, majority of people bigger than a size 10 have bumpy parts even if you do hit the gym every day. Surely it can’t be accurate?
It was fellow instamum and mummy blogger Clemmie Hooper (aka mother of daughters) who said recently that it’s about dressing for your shape. Which made me think dressing this mum bod of mine needn’t be hard. It’s maybe that I haven’t quite grasped some of the fundamental styling that is needed for ‘big boobs’, ‘wide hips’!
I’ve made two babies in this tummy which in itself is a miracle to say the least. My skin has been stretched and pulled, poked and prodded. I’ve had it cut open twice, sewn up twice, and yet it still remains to be sacred and even more special than ever. These stretch marks map out a journey, one that I’m overwhelmingly proud of and have every reason to embrace.
Im very good at telling other people how beautiful and gorgeous they are so maybe I should take a leaf out of my own book and believe it for myself.