After posting and deleting a video of herself seven times, Kate Speer finally decided to leave it up on her Instagram in an effort to walk the body positivity talk she gives herself.
In the video, Speer can be seen jumping and dancing without abandon, or as she puts it, #JiggleForJoy.
“I know I have a thin-privileged, able-privileged, beautiful bod even if I can't always feel it to be so,” she wrote. But even still, she admitted to struggling with her body image as of late.
“So, today, I'm posting this even though it is terrifying me to do so (yup, deleted it 7 times),” she said.
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However, she wanted to post the video as a reminder to her followers that our bodies are perfect, whole, and worthy of love — just as they are.
"Your midday reminder that YOU - just as you are - are FABULOUS!" she wrote.
Speer also shared a mantra that she says to herself, one that she hopes will be helpful for others, too.
"My body is MORE than its appearance," it begins. "My body is NOT my value. My body is simply the vessel for my god damn fabulous self. And no matter what my emotional mind thinks or others say, MY BODY IS PERFECT. MY BODY IS WHOLE. MY BODY IS BEAUTIFUL. AND, MY BODY — IN ITS ENTIRETY— IS WORTHY OF LOVE."
Speer's message hits home especially now that summer is around the corner, and many of us will be spending more time in our bikinis at the beach, or at the pool. According to a Refinery29 survey, 73% of women said that wearing a bathing suit at the beach or the pool was a stressful situation for them when it came to their bodies.
Her post is also a reminder of how liberating it can be to embrace our bodies. For Speer, that means being able to dance around in her bikini, "jiggle" and all — but whatever body acceptance means for you, her message still rings true: your body deserves to be loved.
It's your body. It's your summer. Enjoy them both. Check out more #TakeBackTheBeach here.
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