From the sexy women on billboards to the Photoshopped thighs on the cover of Cosmo, our society generates millions of messages a day that scream, “You’re not good enough.”
Body positivity is SO much easier said than done.
We all internalize insecurity in our own ways, but a standard of bodily perfection particularly seems to loom over women who are told in hundreds of subtle ways every day that “thin = beauty,” that “skinny = worthy,” and “flawless = enough.”
It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that those equations don’t exactly add up. For nobody is flawless — and let’s face it, there are plenty of thin people who are downright rotten to the core on the inside, so equating that to beauty is nonsensical as well.
Body positive advocate and self-acclaimed “goal digger” Jenna Kutcher is all too familiar with the criticism that comes along with having a less-than-perfect bod by cultural standards.
So much so, that she’s even received messages from people who say they can’t believe a full-figured woman like her could land somebody as attractive as her 6-pack husband, Drew.
But rather than recoiling into shame and a state of self-loathing, Jenna uses the criticism as fuel to encourage other women to be their fearfully and wonderfully made selves.
She responded to one Instagram follower’s hurtful comment in a viral post that is sending a powerful message to women everywhere:
“Someone once slid into my DMs and told me they couldn’t believe I had managed to land a guy as good looking as @kickingitwithkutch. I’ll be honest that I was taken aback.
Part of my insecurity with my body has stemmed around being married to Mr. 6-Pack himself. Why should I, a curvy girl get him? I feel unworthy and when I write narratives in my head that because I am not thin, I don’t deserve him.
This man has embraced every curve, every dimple, pound and pimple for the last ten years and has always me reminded me that I’m beautiful even when my inner dialogue doesn’t match.
So yes, my thighs kiss, my arms are big, and my bum is bumpy but there is just more of me for him to love and I chose the man that could handle alllll that (and so much more!)
I am so much more than my body, so is he, and so are you.”
Jenna’s message piggybacks on earlier posts that slam the lie of “thin-spiration” with a little Biblically-inspired truth, charging that God knew what he was doing when he made each and EVERY one of us:
“Peace out to: perfection, body shaming, impossible beauty standards, the haters, the trolls, ‘thin-spiration,’ retouching and marketing messages that target our deepest insecurities.
Shout out to all of you fighting to love yourself in a world constantly telling you that you’re not enough. You ARE enough, you are so enough, it’s absolutely insane how enough you are.
Speak this over yourself: I am worthy, I am beautiful, I am whole, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God didn’t make any mistakes on you, rest in that.”
And while her husband might be a total dreamboat, Jenna asserts that there is SO much more to her muscley man than meets the eye:
“He’s a total softie when it comes to little dogs, he’s striving to become Jack from ‘This Is Us,’ and he just brought home four different kinds of GF mac and cheese so I wouldn’t be disappointed.
He has a heart of gold, abs of steel, and he’s the most loyal human I’ve ever met. He’s been my best friend for the last ten years, has grieved with me through our miscarriages, taken risks that have scared the heck out of him, and held my hand in church on Sunday.”
While society may see them as a mismatch externally, they see one another as best friends who fell in love with the most compatible hearts on the planet — and that is a trait that won’t fade with time or shrivel up with the wrinkles that are sure to plague their outer appearances with age.
“Ladies, wait for the man that loves you well, that wakes up every day and chooses you,” Jenna challenges. “That comes alive in your presence and poses for stupid Instagram photos with a smile. Choose the man who celebrates your power, is your number one fan and who handles the urgency of a mac and cheese craving like a champ.”
“Don’t look for the one who completes you, you are already whole and complete. This isn’t about being worthy, you already are. It’s about waiting for the one who recognizes that worthiness and wholeness every single day.”
SHARE Jenna’s inspiring message with the wonderfully-made women in your life who could use this encouragement today.