The prevalence of social media platforms such as Instagram has helped skew society's conception of what is considered "beautiful".
I mean, when you're constantly affronted by photographs of perfectly-retouched celebrities on a near-daily basis, you can't help but aspire to such standards. Certainly, the people in question spend hours editing their selfies before posting them to their legions of fans, who remain enamored by their contouring skills and figures that remain "beach body ready", come rain or shine.
However, even those who have won the genetic lottery still feel the pressure to live up to unreachable ideals. Case in point - bona fide goddess, and arguably one of the biggest models out there - Gigi Hadid.
A few months ago, Gigi Hadid, was repeatedly body-shamed on social media for being "too skinny". The model clapped back immediately, revealing that she had recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease which required her to eat healthier and work out more.
"When I started at 17 I was not yet diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease; those of you who called me 'too big for the industry' were seeing inflammation and water retention due to that," the 22-year-old took to Twitter to assert. "Over the last few years I’ve been properly medicated to help symptoms ... I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better."
"I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesn't suit ur “beauty” expectation, shouldn't have to. Not to judge others, but drugs are not my thing, stop putting me in that box just because u don't understand the way my body has matured," she continued.
And now, Hadid has opened up for the first time about how she felt while she was being body-shamed. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, conducted by Blake Lively, the model stated that she has always been proud of her body, especially when she was told she was "too big" for the fashion industry.
"I’m not skinny because I gave in to the industry. When I had a more athletic figure, I was proud of my body because I was an amazing volleyball player and horseback rider," she said. "But after discovering that I have Hashimoto’s, I needed to eat healthy and work out. It was weird as a teenager, dealing with this when all of my friends could eat McDonald’s and it wouldn’t affect them."
"If I could choose, I would have my ass back and I would have the tits I had a few years ago. But, honestly, we can’t look back with regret. I loved my body then, and I love my body now."
And Gigi just summed it all up when she concluded, "Three years from now you will look back at a picture from this time period and be like: 'Wow, I was so hot. Why did I feel so bad about myself because of some stupid thing someone said?'"
Damn straight, Gigi!