Camila Cabello shares heartbreaking message on body-shaming and pressure to look "skinny"
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Camila Cabello took to social media this weekend to share an emotional message about body-shaming after her trip to the beach was spoilt by paparazzi. Speaking directly to her 61 million followers, she opened up about how constant pressure to "look skinny" has left her 'mental health suffering'.
"Every time I've gone to this beach club in Miami I get papped," she started the post. "Every time I've felt super vulnerable and unprepared – I've worn bikinis that were too small and paid no mind to how I looked, then saw pictures online and comments and been so upset."
The Cinderella star went on to say her body image had been warped by society's thoughts not her own, adding that society has "gotten so used to an image of what a 'healthy' woman's body looks like, that is completely not real for a lot of women."
To fit this ideal image, the 25-year-old pointed out how women often resort to "Photoshop, restrictive eating, over exercising and choosing angles that make our bodies look different than how they are in the moment and in their natural form." It's something Camila says she's actively trying to work on: "I remind myself of this, listen to podcasts on intuitive eating, follow women who accept their cellulite, stretch marks, bellies, bloating and weight fluctuations."
Sadly though, the singer admitted this isn't enough, and that the pressure to look a certain way still hangs heavy on her day-to-day life. Explaining the lengths she took ahead of her beach day, Camila revealed she "didn't eat anything too heavy" and "held my core so tight my abs hurt". She continued, "[I] didn't breathe and barely smiled and was so self conscious of where the paps were the whole time I couldn't let go and relax."
Yet, even in doing so, the musician realised that although she knew she would look "good" in the paparazzi photos, she still wasn't happy. "I knew I looked 'good' in the pictures and thought I would feel accomplished, and yet I've never had a worse time at the beach," she wrote in her Instagram post. "I felt the emptiness and sadness of our culture's thoughts that became my thoughts."
Commenting on her decision to be so open with her fans about the heartbreaking experience, Camila said: "I wanted to talk about this because we see pictures of women and praise them for looking good, for looking fit or 'healthy', but what is health if you are so fixated on what your body looks like that your mental health suffers and you can't enjoy your life?"
Her message was well received by fans, and her post racked up over 700k likes in just a few hours as well as plenty of positive comments. "I am so sorry. And in the same breath, I’m so thankful you’ve spoken about it. You are a wonderful soul," commented body confidence influencer Danae Mercer, with fellow body confidence creator Alex Light writing: "Thank you so much for your honesty with these issues that affect us all – it’s so so vital. But I’m sorry that our culture and society has made you feel that way."
We ❤️ you Camila!
Beat is the UK's leading charity dedicated to helping people with eating disorders. If you or someone you know is struggling and want to seek help, call their helpline on 0808 801 0677 or visit their website for more details.
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