It's time, you guys: Wear-as-little-as-possible weather is right around the corner, which also means body positivity testing time is right around the corner. Lucky for us, we're living at a time when the size acceptance conversation is finally getting the attention it deserves, and with that has come a sea of vocal body positive celebrities.
Of course, we know we should learn how to love our bodies. We know our curves are lovely and that the jiggle to our thighs when we walk is part of that loveliness. We know we enjoyed eating that three course saucy meal with absolutely zero regrets. But personally, I think it's nearly impossible to not get down on ourselves when we put that bikini on again for the first time after a long time. But why? Why is it that we think those edges and curves are ugly? Why do we think those stretch marks or childhood scars are something to be embarrassed about? Or on the flip side, why do we think small boobs and bony hips will forever be the bane of our existence?
It's something that has been taught and pushed upon us for years and years and years, and that type of gospel is hard to reverse. But we have to try. So keep reminding yourself: You're beautiful, and in the way you look right now. Not how you'll look a mascara swipe later. Not how you'll look a nose job later. Just right now.
But like I said, it takes diligence and constant reminding in order to reverse what you've been taught for more than half of your life. So let me help out by showing you some self love-inducing peeps. Below are 13 beautiful, wise celebs who have shared their thoughts on body image and body positivity wonderfully and eloquently. Let these words become your new gospel:
1. Kate Winslet
"I believe it is important to go on insisting that normality is not what we are exposed to. Honestly, among my acquaintances there is no woman wearing XS. No, sorry, there is one: my daughter. The point is that Mia is 11 years old."
2. Emma Stone
"My great hope for us young women is to start being kinder to ourselves so that we can be kinder to each other. To stop shaming ourselves and other people: 'Too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too anything.' There's a sense that we're 'too' something, and we're all not enough. This is life. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our hearts change."
3. Susan Sarandon
“Just enjoy it and stop worrying about your thighs being too big. If you’re upset with how you look at 25, life’s going to be tough.”
4. Rihanna
"Being a size zero is a career in itself so we shouldn't try and be like them. It's not realistic and it's not healthy."
5. Jennifer Lawrence
"What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make people happy? That's just dumb."
6. Lena Dunham
"I think about my body as a tool to do the stuff I need to do, but not the be all end all of my existence."
7. Tyra Banks
"Girls of all kinds can be beautiful — from the thin, plus-sized, short, very tall, ebony to porcelain-skinned; the quirky, clumsy, shy, outgoing and all in between. It's not easy though because many people still put beauty into a confining, narrow box… think outside of the box... pledge that you will look in the mirror and find the unique beauty in you."
8. Amy Adams
"Being pregnant finally helped me understand what my true relationship was with my body — meaning that it wasn’t put on this Earth to look good in a swimsuit."
9. Amy Poehler
"There’s only, like, five perfectly symmetrical people in the world, and they’re all movie stars, and the should be, because their faces are very pleasing to look at, but the rest of us are just a jangle of stuff, and the earlier you learn that you should focus on what you have and not obsess about what you don’t have, the happier you will be."
10. Kirsten Dunst
"I love my snaggle fangs. They give me character and character is sexy."
11. Padma Lakshmi
“People have told me that my scar makes me seem more approachable, more vulnerable; that it inspires a certain tenderness. Ironically, the greatest gift fashion has given me is the courage to expose what is most vulnerable, to be proud of my body, including my scar.”
12. Oprah
“[Ego] is sick. It’s wily, it’s cunning, it’s deceptive. It’s an impostor imposing on the real you. You’re not the shape of your body. You’re not your status."
13. And Emma Stone Once More:
“You’re a human being, you live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcake.”
Images: Getty; k.winslet, emmastoneslays, gokcesedaaydin, zovi96, ourjlaw, thegreatjayden, vanityfairmx, ronaldolima13, feyandpoehler, muratthuran, bravemagazine, emilyjeanstones/Instagram
