Why this Facebook photo of Robyn Lawley’s stomach is so important
Australian model Robyn Lawley wants the world to remember something very important about women’s bodies: they’re beautiful and powerful and flawless just the way they are.
About a year ago, then seven-months-pregnant Lawley was interviewed by a friend for a story about Lawley and her pregnancy. Later, the model was heartbroken when she read the published article’s headline: Robyn considers abortion to avoid stretch marks.
“I was shocked not only because that is not what I said, not to mention I already had a ton of stretch marks like 90% of the world, but to read that entire article and be already heavily pregnant, that’s their angle?” she writes.
The headline not only hurt Lawley, but it caused major backlash in the form of online bullying. Understandably, this stressed Lawley out, and she worried about her unborn baby’s health. The fashion model explained, “I’m familiar with being bullied, once for not having a thigh gap (insert face palm) but to bully me for something I never said, not to mention my decision would need to be more based on the fact that I will be taking care of someone’s life, a heavy decision to make, would never rest on getting stretch marks alone.” By the time the article was taken down, it had over 500 abusive comments.
While this experience was absolutely devastating for Lawley, she did learn a lot from it. She realized that the media places an incredible amount of unfair weight on women’s shoulders. And she also found that this causes women to focus on their flaws, and to forget about how stunning and strong and empowered they genuinely are.
“F**k them, who cares, be you, be loud, be proud,” Lawley writes. “And to anyone who feels bad about your body especially after a baby, you are a warrior, you created a life inside of you, that’s no easy feat.”
And just in case these uplifting words aren’t enough, the model decided to take action by posting an unedited photo of her body – stretch marks and all. Since posting to Facebook six hours ago, the photo already has over 1,800 shares.
And the comments have been, for the most part, incredibly positive and supportive. One Facebook user writes, “I love and respect your message! Your stretch marks are beautiful and very well earned!” Another added, “You’re honestly so beautiful inside and out. It is amazing that we have you as a positive role model for the current and future generations.”
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