This mom posted a beautiful photo of herself in a bikini to change the conversation around stretch marks

It’s no secret that women face nearly impossible standards when it comes to society’s idea of “the perfect body” — and new moms in particular often feel insecure about how their bodies change after giving birth. Rachel Hollis, a mom of three, posted a beautiful photo of herself in a bikini to change the conversation around stretch marks and it’s gone viral thanks to Hollis’ inspirational message about postpartum body image.

In March 2015, Hollis, who runs the popular lifestyle blog The Chic Site, posted a photo of herself in a bikini while on vacation in Mexico.

Last week, she posted another bikini picture with the exact same caption.

The caption on both photos reads:

"I have stretch marks and I wear a bikini. I have a belly that’s permanently flabby from carrying three giant babies and I wear a bikini. My belly button is saggy... (which is something I didn’t even know was possible before!!) and I wear a bikini. I wear a bikini because I’m proud of this body and every mark on it. Those marks prove that I was blessed enough to carry my babies and that flabby tummy means I worked hard to lose what weight I could. I wear a bikini because the only man who’s opinion matters knows what I went through to look this way. That same man says he’s never seen anything sexier than my body, marks and all. They aren’t scars ladies, they’re stripes and you’ve earned them. Flaunt that body with pride!"

Hollis’ 2015 post received nearly 500,000 likes and 71,000 shares — so it’s safe to say her message resonated in the best way possible.

Hollis hopes that her posts will make other moms feel more comfortable with their own bodies, noting that the media sends the message that women need to look “Pinterest perfect” while raising perfect children — an impossible standard.

“More than that, it's an extremely detrimental message because so many women believe that achieving those things is what will make them happy," she told The Huffington Post. "When they don’t measure up in one (or all) of those ways, they begin to berate themselves and it becomes a never-ending cycle of negative self talk.

She also emphasizes that a woman’s body is so much more than what it looks like — it’s about what it can do.

“My body has carried me through marathons and held me up through seasons of trauma. My body has been every size and shape, and through it all, it has remained strong and powerful, Hollis said.

Despite what the media tells us, all bodies are “real” and “perfect” — and Hollis’ empowering photos are proof that we should embrace our perceived flaws — because they’re not flaws at all.

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