A few weeks ago, in the middle of winter, I walked the streets of downtown Toronto wearing nothing but a bra and underwear. Yes really! And no I didn’t lose a bet or something. I voluntarily strutted my bare behind for the world to see as a part of an inspiring campaign by intimate brand Knixwear. The message was this: “Seriously. Every Woman is An Angel.” I joined forces with 19 other beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities to show that every woman’s body deserves to be celebrated. But if I’m being completely 100% honest with you, I almost didn’t make it out of the change room.
I’ve always been pretty conscious of my body image. I remember being in grade 5 and packing my lunch one day for school. I was making the only thing my 10 year old self could, a delicious smelly tuna salad. But on this day, I omitted the second most important ingredient — the mayonnaise! Why? Because I heard on TV that it has a lot of calories. Eeeek!
Since then the journey to love what I see in the mirror everyday has definitely had its ups and downs. I have days when I think I belong on the cover on Sports Illustrated and others when I feel like Cady Heron gave me the Kälteen Bars Bars instead of Regina George. And to my demise, I was feeling the latter when I stared at myself in the KnixWear Pop Up Shop change room just minutes before it was show time.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHERINE HOLLAND
I took a few deep breaths to try to calm my anxiety and I remember whispering to myself “you can leave right now if you want to. You don’t have to do this”. So I looked through the curtains of the change room to plan my exit route. And when I looked out at the main area of the store, I saw the most incredible thing.
All the “models” were dancing, singing, cheering each other on. Everyone had this we-can-do-anything empowering attitude and a desire to change what they see in the media. These women were passionate for change and they wanted to be a part of it. Instantly, I went from contemplating sliding down the fire escape to being incredibly grateful that I was even invited to be a part of this campaign. A campaign that would hopefully inspire women and girls around the world to love their bodies. The sort of campaign that we need don’t see enough. So I encourage you to help spread the word! Maybe we can’t all have the body of a Victoria’s Secret model, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t just as gorgeous and can’t be role models too.
Check out the inspiring video above!
