It’s okay to not have a flat belly

Art by @palomadelaghetto

As a casual consumer of social media and fashion, I noticed that I wasn’t seeing a lot of bodies that looked like mine. Even the plus sized models didn’t look like me. Over the years I’ve been very intentional about what images I consume and who I follow. It seems that women having a belly is offense #1. You can have thick thighs and a butt that doubles as a table, but worthiness forbid you have a belly. If you do have a belly, you must hide it with clever clothing tricks. I’m still scratching my head about how some plus sized models have such flat stomachs. 

 I mean good for them, but my body doesn’t work that way. When I sit down I like to unbutton the top of my pants because they fit my waist when I stand up but not when I sit down. I jiggle when I move and I can grab onto my stomach like a wide third boob under my belly button. That’s my body. 

I’ve been gathering images of women who look more like me. Women who don’t have perfectly flat bellies. Women who don’t try to conceal their bellies with illusions. It gives me a corrected perspective and helps me challenge my biases about what women are “allowed” to look like. More importantly, I follow Beauty Redefined on Instagram and they remind me often that my body is an instrument not an ornament. When I stop hyper-fixating on my body I can direct my energy towards things I’d rather be thinking about. 

Here are a few images that help me to remember that I don’t have to hide my belly. 

I gain a weird amount of confidence from statues.

Really, what our bodies look like shouldn’t be a focus of conversation at all, or the focus of a mediocre blog post, but I’ve found that it helps to see people who look like me wearing cute clothes and not trying to shrink. Hopefully it’s helped you too. If not, let me know what didn’t help. I’m always curious and wanting to learn.