Demi Lovato Showed Off Her Stretch Marks for a Very Powerful Reason
"I wanted to celebrate my stretch marks instead of being ashamed of them."
If you’re trying to learn to love your stretch marks, take a page from Demi Lovato’s book and add sparkles. Lovato posted a series of pics to her Instagram on December 24th in which she showed off the stretch marks on her thighs, adorned with glitter paint, to make a point about loving your body’s “flaws” because each one signifies a challenge overcome.
“I used to genuinely believe recovery from an eating disorder wasn’t real. That everyone was faking or secretly relapsing behind closed doors,” Lovato wrote in her caption. “‘Surely she throws up here and there,’ ‘she can’t POSSIBLY accept her cellulite’… those [were] just a few of the things that I used to tell myself growing up.”
But, Lovato continued, I’m so grateful that I can honestly say for the first time in my life—my dietitian looked at me and said ‘This is what eating disorder recovery looks like.’
“In honor of my gratitude for the place I’m in today, this was a lil shoot I did by myself in quarantine this summer when I wanted to celebrate my stretch marks instead of being ashamed of them,” she wrote. “I started wearing actual glitter paint on my stretch marks to celebrate my body and all of [its] features (whether society views them as good OR bad).”
Though Lovato ultimately learned, with the help of glitter, to love her stretch marks, her post is more so directed at those who are currently struggling to overcome an eating disorder—those sparkly marks on her thighs prove that it can be done.
Let this be a reminder to anyone who doesn’t think it’s possible: IT ACTUALLY IS. YOU CAN DO IT. I BELIEVE IN YOU, Lovato wrote. This year was tough.. be gentle on yourself if you slip up and remember to get right back on track because you’re WORTH THE MIRACLE OF RECOVERY.
In 2021, let’s reframe stretch marks, scars, wrinkles, and all other body “flaws” as signs of growth, reminders that we are human, and physical markers of checkpoints we’ve hit and new levels we’ve unlocked. And yes, glitter stretch marks should become a new poolside fashion trend, too.
