Sure, companies like ASOS may have hopped on the #bodypositive trend to try to sell us stuff, but we definitely don't mind the brand's summer 2017 swimsuit campaign that advertised gorgeous models' stretch marks along with trendy two-pieces.
Image via ASOS
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Model Behavior
No surprise here: the stylish Sports Illustrated model was ahead of the body positive trend, taking to Instagram back in 2015 to share a shot of the stretch marks on her thighs. "Stretchies say hi!" she nonchalantly captioned the shot, letting her multitude of followers know the marks are NBD in her mind. A few years later, she let us know that she still feels "whatevs" about them.
We're used to Instagram influencers like Lexi Mendiola uploading carefully curated shots making their lives -- and bodies -- seem nothing less than perfect, so it was refreshing to see the young social media star post a stretch mark-baring swimsuit shot. "It's taken me quite a while (23 yrs to be exact) but putting this out there to remind myself and everyone that it's really nothing to get all worked up or feel weird about," she said. "Here's to learning to love the lines." Excuse us while we hit "like."
Don't believe stretch marks can be beautiful? Spanish artist Cinta Tort Carto literally turns them into works of art, decorating the grooves with a rainbow-array of shades that serve to celebrate rather than hide the female body. She also applauds periods, body hair and vaginas via art on Insta, in case you're feeling self-conscious about any of those things, too.
With all the fuss around post-baby body bounce-back, this woke mama reminds us that (newsflash!) women's bodies do indeed change after making a human, and that's OK. "I've earned my stripes and am embracing them more and more every day," this mom proudly captions a shot showing off her baby girl and tiger stripes. "We give up our bodies to create our children, our bodies change and gain perfect imperfections that we should be celebrating not shaming." We're guessing Wedlake's little one will grow up with a healthy self-esteem, thanks to her tiger mom's refreshing attitude.
