Body Image

Hey ladies – and gents 🙂

So, it’s that time of the year once again where it starts getting a lot warmer, signalling that I can get back to my bikini life. The melanin-rich skin becomes darker; the sea water feels warmer; life gets so much better.

I mean, as a young African lady who grew up in various conservative environments, it has taken everything IN me to grow into being fully confident in my flaws (and all). With this in mind, I totally believe that I have reached my personal pinnacle when it comes to being confident in my femininity and the beautiful curvaceousness that it comes with.

Firstly, I must acknowledge what a privilege it is to be living in an era that allows for limitless expression, enabled by the generous array of social media platforms.

I recently posted one of my unedited takeouts from a photo-shoot where I was wearing swimwear on my Instagram page and had someone have a go at body-shaming me –  apparently having the time of their life – in my comments section. Look, I had quite the chuckle but then I got rather concerned – so much so that Beyonce’s words came to mind: perfection is a disease of a nation.

Cliche’s aside, we truly are at our most beautiful in our natural form and it’s really time we embrace this fact and wear all that with confidence! Social standards can leave you feeling sullen (even depressed), questioning your imperfections and end up using products which will really never take away those stretch marks or whatever it may be.

On the other side of the token, without the maturity and deeper self confidence, it is very easy to get infatuated with the pedestals society creates for you. Never lose sight of why and how you engage with others and express yourself on your social media platforms.

Find the balance in the saying which goes ‘numbers don’t lie’. Let not numbers and likes be your validation of all that you are.

Ladies, this is what I have to leave you with :

“You should be thinking about building up your character and having fun.That’s all.It’s a celebration of curves and a celebration of women’s bodies.” – Beyonce

Photographer : Simphiwe Mkhwanazi