It's an unfortunate reality of the world that women are sexualized from an early age, and even when they are simply embracing their bodies, they are criticized for it.
This is something that MMA star Valerie Loureda, 22, knows all too well when she was forced to defend her Instagram posts after being accused of "sexualizing the sport".
Now, as she prepares to return to the cage, she has defended her use of social media.
Per News.com.au, Loureda told reporters at the Bellator 243 virtual media day: "I don't do anything for social media. I do things for myself."
"For example, I am an extreme girly-girl outside of the cage. So the way that I market myself, it's not for social media and it's not for men. This is the way that I look. I've worked my whole life to have this body, to have this figure - I was a ballerina, I've been a martial artist."
"I think that's where people mistake. It's not for social media. I am the way that I look like, but I'm also a fighter. What does one thing have to do with the other? Just because I look different than other martial artists doesn't make me any different. It's my identity, this is why Valerie Loureda is different."
The 22-year-old explained that, generally speaking, she isn't too bothered by the criticism her pictures receive because it simply reflects the fact that people don't know what she's about.
"I have different passions outside of the cage and that's okay," Loureda explained. "The way I am doesn’t mean I market myself like that. It means I'm a normal girl who has an education outside of the cage and that should be recognized.
"It's just jealousy and they’re not educated in that aspect. They've never seen it before and they can't handle it. But they will when they see me fight in the cage."
Loureda is set to fight Tara Graff at Bellator 243 and said that her Instagram account results in her opponents thinking that she's less of a force to be reckoned with than she actually is.
On the Hablemos MMA podcast, Loureda said: "My opponent is very aggressive, and like most of the opponents that I have, she's going to try to take me down.
"But if they knew that I'm very prepared for that (they might not). I train with the best female fighters on the planet here at American Top Team. I did the camp with Joanna (Jedrzejczyk) in January (and) February. I'm ready.
"She sees me on Instagram and she thinks I only post pictures, but she doesn't know I train twice, three times a day, and like an animal. That's my secret weapon. She thinks I'm weak - I'm just an Instagram model. But when I step in the cage, I transform."
