This CrossFit star’s bikini photo proves body image worries are all relative

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This CrossFit star’s bikini photo proves body image worries are all relative

This CrossFit star’s bikini photo proves body image worries are all relative
This CrossFit star’s bikini photo proves body image worries are all relative

Looking at Instagram fitness star Jamie Hagiya, you might be tempted to assume she doesn’t struggle with body image issues. In the photos she posts for her 48,000 followers, she looks toned, tan, and happy, with a strong, muscular build befitting her dedication to weight lifting, healthy eating, and CrossFit competitions.

But yesterday Jamie posted a photo of herself in a bikini along with a confession. Although Jamie is super-fit by anyone’s definition, in her mind, her body doesn’t live up to the ideals of the fitness competition world, and that’s been a tough pill to swallow.

I’m going to address something that has been on my mind a lot lately. It’s a hard subject for me since I struggle with body image issues but here goes nothing. My body does not look like all the other @crossfitgames female athletes with crazy ripped abs and zero body fat on their stomachs. I wish I could look like that, but I’ve come to the realization that this is my body. I work my ass off in training everyday. I eat clean for the most part, but am human and love to indulge in dessert every now and then. I’m in the best shape of my life and still don’t have a six pack. Not even close to a 4 lol. Some of it is genetics and the other part is I could eat less calories to try to look like everyone else. But the bottom line is I need to eat to perform. I can’t worry about trying to look like a “Games” athlete because having a six pack doesn’t always make for the best athlete. So for anyone who thinks they need to look a certain way to be a Regionals or Games competitor, you don’t. Stay on the grind and keep doing you!

A photo posted by Jamie Hagiya (@jamiejoyce2) on Jun 27, 2016 at 10:08pm PDT

Jamie obviously looks beautiful and strong, but as she says in the post, her body “does not look like all the other CrossFit Games female athletes with crazy ripped abs and zero body fat on their stomachs. I wish I could look like that,” she wrote, “but I’ve come to the realization that this is my body.”

She could keep pushing to try to make her body look different, and maaaaaaybe it would work (probably not), but one thing’s for sure: focusing on the aesthetic would mean sacrificing performance, and Jamie’s not willing to do that:

I’m in the best shape of my life and still don’t have a six pack. Not even close to a 4 lol. Some of it is genetics and the other part is I could eat less calories to try to look like everyone else. But the bottom line is I need to eat to perform. I can’t worry about trying to look like a ‘Games’ athlete because having a six pack doesn’t always make for the best athlete.

Preach, Jamie! It’s worth remembering that the standard of a “perfect body” is not only completely arbitrary, it can be totally different depending on subculture. CrossFit competitors like Jamie have their own standard outside the mainstream standard, which doesn’t make it less real or damaging, but does prove one thing: all body standards are all relative.

Let’s all take some inspiration from Jamie Hagiya, and honor our bodies for their uniqueness, and what they are — rather than what they’re not.

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