Ashley Jamesさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Ashley JamesInstagram)「The sun came out unexpectedly this afternoon so I hunted out a bikini and enjoyed some time in the garden. I read this week that a new mum in the pubkic eye vowed not to wear a bikini after having a baby until she had her body back. It made me feel really sad for her and for all of us that that's how we're made to feel in society. Our body has done this epic and miraculous thing that is literally essential for humanity continuing and yet we're made to feel ashamed of it. It’s funny because in terms of how society views bodies, my body isn’t like it was before. Of course it isn’t, I’ve birthed two babies in the last 2 1/2 years. But I’m a lot more confident than I ever was. 💪 I used to think if I was just a bit thinner, or when I had hair removal or when I had abs or when I had a tan - then I’d be confident. It was always WHEN. And I never achieved when. I remember going on holiday in my 20s and feeling like my body wasn’t good enough to wear a bikini.. I’d worry about shaving marks and ingrown hairs. And cellulite. And the stretch marks. I’d worry about the hair on my belly. About the roll on my belly (spoiler alert: It was skin. A skin fold.) I’d sit amongst a group of friends and look at their bodies and think how lucky they were as I sat with a towel covering myself. But nobody was zooming in on my body like I was. I didn’t eat pasta for almost a decade. I mean, I bloody love pasta. I used to google how to be confident. I felt like I’d never find love until I was perfect. I look at that same body from my 20s now and think how amazing I looked. How I wish I knew it. But also, how it didn’t define me. Ironically I was also a lingerie model back then. Where did I learn to hate myself so much? From comments made around me by adults when I was young, from descriptions of women's bodies in magazines ... Mostly I’ve learned that I don’t need to love my body to wear clothes. I’m neutral about it - I am grateful for it for everything it allows me to do. i don’t care what people think of it. I’m not an object. And if I had my old body, then I wouldn’t have my babies. So I think that is reason enough to appreciate it and to wear the bikini. 🌞🫶💛」7月2日 5時10分