Every day, we struggle with the way we look, especially when we look at ourselves in the mirror. But how beautiful you are shouldn’t be measured by how others think either. That kind of acceptance starts within yourself.
Take it from women who have every aspect of their life picked and prodded every day by the media. Female celebs are often the subject of body shaming because apparently, they’re supposed to look a certain way. But these women have taken back the power and have advocated for body acceptance and body positivity. Here are empowering quotes to inspire you to love yourself—flaws, flabs, scars, cellulite, and all.
Jennifer Lawrence
“You just have to look past it. You look how you look, be comfortable. What are you gonna do? Be hungry every day to make other people happy? That’s just dumb.” [via]
Ariel Winter
“The beach should be a safe space to go as you please and feel good about yourself no matter what! Makeup on, makeup off, heels, sandals, covered up, exposed, do you and feel HAPPY about who you are and YOUR choices, not the ones society wants us to choose. It’s also HARD to be 100 percent confident—I’m still not—but I’m on a journey and I want other people to know they’re not alone. We all struggle but through our struggle we get stronger and closer to our goals. Body positivity is important.” [via]
Emma Stone
"My great hope for us as 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 for things we don't know the full story on — whether someone is too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too loud, too quiet, too anything. There's a sense that we're all 'too' something, and we're all not enough. This is life. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our hearts change." [via]
Serena Williams
“Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that, to be different. But different is good.” [via]
Rebel Wilson
“I don't really care what I look like that much. And I think that women out there should just be happy with how they look and they shouldn't really try to conform to any stereotype. Just be happy and hopefully healthy." [via]
Ariana Grande
“We live in a day and age where people make it impossible for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are. Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy! You know what is not sexy? Misogyny, objectifying, labeling, comparing and body shaming! Talking about people's body's as if they're on display asking for your approval [or] opinion. They are not! Celebrate yourself. Celebrate others. The things that make us different from one another make us beautiful.” [via]
Shay Mitchell
“Take that one thing that you don’t like about yourself, and more often that not, that’s the one thing that makes you more special—whether it’s that gap in your teeth, that mole you never liked, or your own skin color.” [via]
Ashley Graham
“Your words have so much power. Every day, if you tell yourself, ‘I love you,’ if you give yourself one word of validation, it will change your mind.” [via]
Taylor Swift
“I definitely have body issues, but everybody does. When you come to the realization that everyone [has those]—even the people I consider flawless—you can start to live with the way you are.” [via]
Emma Watson
“I keep telling myself that I’m a human being, an imperfect human being who’s not made to look like a doll, and that who I am as a person is more important than whether at the moment I have a nice figure.” [via]
Nikki Reed
“I remember feeling that there was nothing special about me that made me unique...But that’s part of the process—going through all the BS and finally realizing it doesn’t really matter.” [via]
Tina Fey
“Now, every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a Californian tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits. The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes.” [via]
Adele
“I think no matter what you look like, the key is to, first of all, be happy with yourself. And then you know if you want to try to improve things that you don't like about yourself, then do it after you appreciate yourself.” [via]
Khloe Kardashian
“I’m proud of my body. I’m finally in a good place and learning to love me for me, and not somebody else’s standards.” [via]
Oprah Winfrey
“Step away from the mean girls and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks. Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate? Say goodbye to your inner critic, and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others.” [via]
Ronda Rousey
“When we worry about perfection, our bigger goals are sacrificed. We can’t look up, work hard, and kick ass...I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that you don’t need to be perfect to be valid. Your flaws—your unsuccessful attempts at greatness or even mediocrity—are real. They make you better. And that’s beautiful because it’s never perfect.” [via]
Lena Dunham
“I think about my body as a tool to do the stuff I need to do, but not the be all and end all of my existence.” [via]
Sandra Bullock
“I’ve made peace with the fact that the things that I thought were weaknesses or flaws were just me. I like them.” [via]