Bold and beautiful mother of two, Tess Holliday is one of our favorite self-love advocates. The model-slash-author-slash-feminist is on a mission to help all women – regardless of body shape or size – become empowered.
Her commitment toward body positivity is truly inspiring, and her latest social media posts encouraging the world to reevaluate their beauty standards, are totally fierce.
On Sunday, Holliday shared a photo of her naked bod lounging in a bathtub, revealing the mad love she has for it. She wrote alongside the Instagram photo:
“Learning how to stand in my power again. To say no, set boundaries and keep my word. Through all of that, I’m learning beautiful [sic] new ways to love my body & it feels fucking good.”
Last week, the American model, blogger, and make-up artist, posted another stripped down snap, sharing about her self-love struggle. She pontificated:
“It’s not easy to choose love towards a body that so many find ‘disgusting’, & sometimes I wonder if that’s why so many of us spend so much time hating ourselves. To radically love yourself is hard work, but my god it’s worth it.”
She then continued to explain that her body has served her well and taught her things about herself. She continued:
“This beautiful body has carried two kids, survived so much abuse from others and from myself, and yet I’m still here… Still in awe of what we’ve created together.”
Holliday also pointed out how her body has helped to inspire others. She wrote:
“I’m fortunate to be able to use my body as a tool to connect with others on a more intimate level (& no I’m not talking about sexual intimacy). To be able to share my stories and to keep going despite so many obstacles in my way, to be able to see beauty where others see none, that’s my gift. I chose myself, and I hope whoever is reading this can do the same.”
Her full post read:
”It’s not easy to choose love towards a body that so many find “disgusting”, & sometimes I wonder if that’s why so many of us spend so much time hating ourselves. To radically love yourself is hard work, but my god it’s worth it.
My body has served me well, it’s taught me things about myself, and others, that I didn’t think were possible. This beautiful body has carried two kids, survived so much abuse from others and from myself, and yet I’m still here… Still in awe of what we’ve created together.
I’m fortunate to be able to use my body as a tool to connect with others on a more intimate level (& no I’m not talking about sexual intimacy). To be able to share my stories and to keep going despite so many obstacles in my way, to be able to see beauty where others see none, that’s my gift. I chose myself, and I hope whoever is reading this can do the same. #effyourbeautystandards.”
Holliday has inspired so many people and is doing her part to remove the stigma attached to body types. She recently shared a photo from one of her workouts, pointing out that many plus-sized individuals do, in fact, exercise. She continues:
“I snapped this yesterday after my workout because I felt cute! I never share these photos to prove anything, but it’s a conscious choice to share the ways I move my body because it de-stigmatizes the notion that plus size folks aren’t healthy/active.”
She also pointed out that you shouldn’t have to be perceived as “healthy” to be able to love yourself.
