“I wish I saw more bodies like mine when I was younger.”
Flawlessly airbrushed thighs and butts are so common in ads and commercials, it’s no wonder many women view cellulite as something ugly and abnormal. But influencers like Danae Mercer are trying to change this thinking—and they’re posted semi-nude images to prove that cellulite is totally normal and nothing to be ashamed of.
Mercer, a Dubai-based journalist and blogger, shared a video of herself on Instagram on Saturday. In the clip, she’s posing in red underwear, her legs and butt front and center for the camera.
“I wish I saw more bodies like mine when I was younger. I wish I saw more shapes with stretchmarks and dimples and thin bits and soft bits,” she wrote in her caption. “I wish I saw more women championing STRONG instead of SKINNY. WHOLE instead of HALVES. HEALTH instead of STARVATION.”
Mercer went on to say that she wishes more women understood that having cellulite is not only natural, it’s also beautiful.
“So yes. I wish I saw more bodies like mine when I was younger,” she continued. “But I’m so gosh darn GRATEFUL that we are starting to see the whole incredible rainbow of bodies now.”
Mercer finished her message on her video by writing, “Here’s to a community of women standing together to celebrate all that makes us gloriously human. Here’s to us – perfectly imperfect and all.”
This isn’t the first time Mercer has taken to social media to talk body positivity. She’s gained a following of over 43K by sharing unedited clips of her body and promoting self-love throughout her posts. The former editor has covered stretch marks, bra bulge, and bloating, topics that have resonated with her followers, who leave positive and grateful comments on her page.
Needless to say, people are loving her positivity—and hopefully more real women will reject airbrushed images and accept the natural beauty of the female body.
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