Since When Is Showing Your Body Considered "Brave"?

Thank you, Kenzie Brenna. Thank you for stating the obvious and bringing to our attention something that needs to be addressed. Kenzie says in her Instagram caption underneath a photo showing off her belly, "We've culturally made it UNSAFE TO BE OURSELVES. THAT IS WHY, when I sit crossed legged showing you a body that is underrepresented in our media I get hailed as doing an act of bravery. Because we acknowledge that there may be social failure in this, I may be attacked, I may get hurt JUST BY BEING MYSELF. Can we all just recognize how fucked up that is?! Yo, if being yourself, accepting who you are is an act of bravery what kind of world have we created?"

Would you tell a Victoria's Secret model or an athlete that they're "so brave" for showing off their bodies? Absolutely not. But if a woman shows off a body that doesn't fit into society's standards of perfect and beautiful, it's OK to call her "brave," that it would even be considered a compliment? That is messed up. Firemen are brave for risking their lives running into burning buildings, but a woman showing off her belly rolls? That shouldn't be considered brave.

This is the reason women have body dismorphia, eating disorders, and life-threatening depression. That is why it is so necessary that women see posts like Kenzie's on social media, showing what a normal woman looks, because the more women we see that look like us, the more accepting we'll be of our own bodies. Kenzie says, "I don't do anything technically brave. I just sit here, discuss my insecurities and get better at loving myself."