Kate Winslet has some kickass things to say about body image
On Monday, Oscar-winning actress and all-around impressive human Kate Winslet put her survival skills to the test on Running Wild with Bear Grylls — and after watching it, we’ve never loved her more. Over the course of the episode, she scaled mountains, ate worms, and gloriously recreated the “I’m flying!” scene from Titanic while hanging off the side of a cliff. (Grylls makes an excellent Jack to her Rose, just FYI.) But perhaps most notably, Winslet also dished some major honesty about body image while on the show — and we’re in love with what she had to say.
“When I grew up, I never heard positive reinforcement about body image from any female in my life. I only ever heard negatives,” she told Grylls. “That’s very damaging, because then you’re programmed as a young woman to immediately scrutinize yourself and how you look.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Winslet has offered a refreshingly honest take on learning to love her body — but on Running Wild, she acknowledges that the journey is far from easy. Winslet goes on to discuss how she makes an effort to instill positive reinforcement in her 14-year-old daughter every day.
“I stand in front of the mirror and say to Mia, ‘We are so lucky that we’ve got a shape. We’re so lucky we’re curvy. We’re so lucky we’ve got good bums,’” Winslet said. “And she’ll say, ‘Mommy, I know, thank God.’ And so I do think maybe it’s really working, that thing that I’ve been doing.”
According to a new study in The British Journal of Psychiatry, kids report being unhappy with their bodies as young as eight years old. This is an absolutely heartbreaking statistic, and it further proves just how much we’re conditioned to scrutinize our looks from a young age.
Winslet nails how big of a difference being nice to yourself can make, and how important it is to be grateful for your body just as it is. Whether or not you’re curvy, her logic still applies. Even ridiculously talented, smart, and gorgeous superwomen like Winslet can feel insecure. But rather than focus on our so-called flaws, she gives us the perfect reminder that we should be celebrating our bodies for all that they can do instead.
“Happiness isn’t a search for facial or physical perfection,” Winslet continued. “It comes from inside.”
Check out the segment for yourself below.