Do you ever catch yourself glancing over at the gigantic Victoria's Secret posters hanging in their windows? You know, the women who are stripped down and looking pleased about everything in life?
"Yeah, I would be that happy too if I had a body like that," I think to myself sheepishly.
But you and I both know that those girls do not look like that. At all.
Did you know that VS models actually have normal looking underarms like the rest of us? If you never noticed, they are so retouched that even their armpits aren't really theirs. The girls do not have to worry about shaving before they come to their photo shoot, because Photoshop takes care of that. So yes, ladies, we all have that gray effect even if there is no stubble, including the models.
Did you know that the models actually wear a bra under their bathing suit, because the bathing suits do not actually give that much of an oomph to their physique? And, yet again, thanks to Photoshop, you would never guess that-- remember, these models also have A cups, not the D's they all seem to portray—which there is absolutely nothing wrong with! All girls should be able to flaunt whatever they have in whatever way makes them comfortable!
When I feel down on myself, I look to read the testimonies from Aerie Real girls, who do not get retouched when they model for Aerie. I follow Aerie's Instagram and check their profile religiously, wanting to see just how the girls on there are loving themselves. It's a struggle for all of us, really—when you wake up one morning with a random breakout, or when you go to put on last summer's bathing suit that you swore would look even better on you this year than last year, it hurts.
But, think about everything you do like. You know there's some things: your eye color, your hair at that perfect length, you freckles that come out when you're in the sun for a mere hour...there's so much to love about yourself, even if you don't have legs like Carrie Underwood or flat abs like a gold medal gymnast.
Don't let the VS fashion shows get you down. Look at how happy those girls are and realize that you could be that happy too—if you could just love yourself and everything you stand for. It's a process, you can't flip the body positivity on like a switch, but if you work hard enough at it, one day it could be just that easy.
This isn't me bashing Photoshop, Victoria's Secret, or those models (because they're still friggin' gorgeous, even without all of the technology to make them "ideal VS models"). I still shop there all the time; this is more of my "hurrah" for making myself realize that I am beautiful the way I am, and I do not have to look like Candice Swanepoel in order to like myself.
