As we endlessly scroll through unrealistic body standards and Photoshopped fitness influencers, it can be really easy to get down on yourself and judge your own body. But instead of doing this, we should be empowering each other and celebrating all the differences between our bodies, not judging them. Fortunately, a handful of body-positive celebrities are here to reassure us that we’re beautiful just the way we are.
1. Selena Gomez
After a difficult kidney transplant, Selena Gomez made her first public appearance on a yacht, wearing an orange bikini. She looks absolutely gorgeous, but still, fans felt the need to comment on how she appeared to gain weight. Her response was inspiring, and discussed the “beauty myth,” aka an obsession with a perfection that doesn’t exist, and leads to self-hatred.
2. Rihanna
This pop star created an entire lingerie line about accepting different body sizes, and for that we will always Stan her. Rihanna launched her line Savage x Fenty to celebrate women of all shapes – their sizes for from XS to 3XL, and cup sizes range from a 32A to 40DDD! Her NYFW show was the epitome of inclusiveness, with many diverse models (including pregnant ones) showcasing her massive range of looks.
3. Kate Winslet
Ever since The Titanic, Kate Winslet has been our curvy role model. Even when it wasn’t the popular opinion, Winslet was body positive and always bravely spoke out about how important it is for women to love their natural shape. She didn’t grow up around body positive role models, so she decided to become one herself.
4. Serena Williams
We know a couple of strong girls who are afraid of looking too masculine or manly. But as women, our strength is our beauty, and Serena Williams embodies that sentiment! She believes that what your body is capable of is what makes it so beautiful. Strength is power is beauty – accept the whole woman for what she is!
5. Oprah
You would never think that an empowered and voluptuous queen like Oprah dealt with body insecurity issues in the past. That’s because she got over them, and decided to see herself in a more positive light. As she puts it herself in O Magazine “I think of all the years I’ve wasted hating myself fat, wanting myself thin.” Give up the guilt and trade it for self-love.
6. Ashley Graham
She’s basically the face of the plus size industry, and is known for being a daily champion for plus size women. Honestly, with the way that Graham looks, she probably makes most dieters and skinny girls envious of her stunning, Marilyn-like curves. She posts jaw-dropping lingerie pics online, and when one follower decided to body-shame her for supposedly not working out, she responded with: “Girls with cellulite and rolls can’t work out also?” Tell ‘em, queen!
7. Jameela Jamil
The Indian beauty on The Good Place has repeatedly blasted the influencers who support and promote diet gummies and pills to their easily convinced, young, and insecure fanbase. Apparently she forced the editors of Good Place to agree the wouldn’t airbrush out her stretch marks in any scenes, in an attempt to normalize them for TV viewers.
8. Iskra Lawrence
The weight of this Aerie model has always fluctuated, but the difference is that she’s now proud of her curviness. She looks back on being proud of how skinny she used to be, but now that people call her degrading names because of weight gain, she’s “just happy to be alive and grateful for this body I call my home.” She consistently continues to speak out about the power of self love and good vibes.
9. Melissa McCarthy
The big girl often gets a reputation for being the funny girl, and Melissa wears that title with pride. For other curvy comediennes, McCarthy is such an iconic display of loving the way you take up space, and using your personality to take up even more space! In a room full of models, Melissa would still command the attention, wherever she is. She’s talked about how weird the culture of female comparison is, and how she prefers that “everyone wins.”
10. Ariel Winters
You might recognize this brunette as Alex from Modern Family. Even though she played an innocent teen nerd, people just couldn’t leave her weight alone. She had the average body of a teenage girl but was called fat by many, and even shamed for her promiscuous outfits at time. For this reason, she partnered with the Dove Self esteem project, in an attempt to change the toxic social media landscape.
11. Aly Raisman
Just like Serena, Aly is made of muscle, and has been made to feel insecure about her femininity as a result. But in an Instagram post where she hash-tagged #girlpower, she wanted to remind her fans that we’re entitled to wear what we want, and it’s totally ok to still have insecure days. It’s nice to see a flawless Olympian remind us that we’re all just human.