‘It was fear of what people thought’: Roz Purcell on body confidence
Irish model, foodie blogger and fitness expert Roz Purcell has posted a message that, we think, everyone needs to read today.
Purcell has been a long-standing agent of body positivity, having suffered with the pressure to have the perfect body presumably for her entire modelling career.
With Love Island on our screens for the next eight weeks judging physiques and placing emphasis on the Greek God image of bronzed and toned bodies, it's important to remember that they are only displaying a miniscule picture of reality.
The vast majority of the country does not fit into their notion of an 'ideal' body type, and their lack of body diversity and racial diversity is fairly shocking.
Roz expressed her own views in an Instagram post, and we love her for it:
She captioned the lengthy post:
"Few things. Love Island is hitting our screens tonight; let's remember its a selective representation of the female body and I would say the pressure they must feel to live up to the ”perfect body” before entering the reality TV SHOW world is horrible.
"The fact they HAVE to wear bikinis all day until they are allowed put clothes on for the evening. The stress," she added.
She continued, opening up about her moment of clarity on the beach;
"Went to go for a swim today and obviously with the weather it was jammers I think about the fear I used to have (sometimes still get) about stripping off into a swimsuit/ bikini, walking past people feeling just shit and insecure about my stretch marks, cellulite jiggly bits. Walking backwards into the sea."
"It was the fear of what people thought more so than what I thought about them." Fear holds a huge amount of us back from enjoying our holidays, and it's not fair.
"What to remember when I feel like this…. No one cares or notices and if they do, if they care about my bits (that are not part of this perfect image portrayed by society) then they're dicks.
"You deserve to run about in a swimsuit, jump in the sea, dip in the pool, not be bleeding boiling on holidays. Don't let anyone tell you different (even your own head )." Roz concluded.
She's dead right. While we can all enjoy reality television if we want, we have to recognise that it's about as far away from reality as possible.
Body confidence takes time and energy, but figure out what empowers you. If Love Island makes you feel self-conscious or down, it's time to switch off.
Feature image: Instagram/@rozannapurcell
