Outward prettification, such as haircuts and the wearing of gold jewelry or good clothing, should not be your source of attractiveness. It needs to be the elegance of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a peaceful and quiet soul. Only when you are content with who you are on the inside and outside you appreciate true beauty.When you embrace yourself for who you are, flaws and all, and can say to yourself in the morning, “I feel fantastic and perfect today!” That is what is important.
Bald and Beautiful is Proebstel’s Facebook page. Of course, there are many inspiring people battling against the fake and unhealthy body image promoted by photoshopping media and fashion outlets all around the world. But only a few are forthright as Shelley. She is a true believer in what she promotes!
image courtesy : Bald and Beautiful
Because, as we already know, a “bikini body” is just that: a body covered in a bikini. Shelley was out in the sun at Mt Maunganui Beach, a beautiful place in Tauranga on New Zealand’s north island. She became aware of several nearby men’s jeers and sniggers. Instead of being humiliated by the experience, she chose to use it to her advantage by writing a passionate response promoting body positivity.
“To the guys that pointed and laughed today at Mt Maunganui Beach, bare my soul (my bikini body) to the world. I just want to say (forgive my language but) F*CK YOU,” she wrote on an emotional post that has over 60k likes and shares.
“It’s because of dickheads like you that people are so self-conscious about their bodies.”
“It’s because of individuals like you that women, in particular, don’t feel secure, confident, or comfortable going out in public in anything like a bikini, a crop top (they definitely aren’t even called that anymore!) or a short dress, or with their midriff exposed. ”
“People starve themselves and make themselves ill in order to preserve a ‘model-like physique’ because of people like you.”
“Individuals wear long sleeves all year because they are afraid to display their arms because of people like you.”
“Individuals become anorexic, fat, bulimic, self-harm, and commit suicide because of people like you… I could go on and on… No, you aren’t in charge of everything. However, you must take some responsibility.”
“So, next time you see anyone like me on the beach in a bikini or in a situation similar to mine, before you laugh and point, consider the harm you may have just done, because not everyone, young or old, male or female, has learned to have the thick skin, resilience, or self-confidence that I have to brush it off.”
“I won’t lie, there was a little moment when I considered covering up again, but then I remembered all I’d learnt on this journey, and I held my head high, pushed my belly out, and proudly wore that bikini.”
“Parents, I urge you to teach your children that there is no one body shape, but instead that there is a rainbow of beautiful bodies. I implore you to teach children to look at a person’s face and gaze into their eyes rather than directly at a larger stomach than they may be accustomed to seeing on television or in society. I strongly advise you to educate kids to be kind to everyone, regardless of their appearance, and to accept individuals for who they are on the inside. And I implore you to teach your children to be role models for those who aren’t being taught this. And also to be the good change we need to see in the world. So then no one will look at and laugh at for wearing a bikini on the beach in 5 or 10 or 20 years on the beach.”
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