You can’t love your bodyifyoucan’tsee it... so just get naked
Vlogger Grace Victory on how she overcame society’s unfair rules to be at peace with her looks
THE body positivity movement still has a long way to go – it’s not as diverse as it should be and women are still constantly bombarded with images of how they supposedly “should” look.
But people like 28-year-old vlogger Grace Victory, who cut through all the negativity, are a true breath of fresh air.
Through her vlogs, she’s covered everything from battling eating disorders to her struggles with mental health and she’s no less candid talking about her journey to body positivity.
One of Grace’s first videos was called The Pressure to be Perfect. She admits that at the time she was “really suffering with body image issues, I had an eating disorder and I was suffering from depression – I wasn’t very well”.
She made the video to “speak about the pressures I had faced my whole life, like comparing myself to models on the cover of magazines and never seeing someone that looked like me on TV”.
This was a turning point for her. Grace said: “That was the moment I realised that talking about your problems helped, and other people were able to talk about theirs.”
Another thing which really helped Victory was discovering the body positivity movement in 2015.
She added: “I’d never seen fat girls and plus size women wearing bikinis and being comfortable before. I started BY PRUDENCE WADE reading articles about how you can be happy and not thin and I wanted a piece of that.
“I’d been trying to lose weight and fit into this mould my whole life and I was tired.”
Being proud of your body can unfortunately come with its hardships. Grace remembers posting her first bikini photo: “Oh my God it was so hard, because you feel so exposed.” she said.
The incessant negativity of online trolls can wear you down, but Grace has got to a more positive place – now her response is to just ignore the haters.
She said: “Now I’m in a space where I don’t listen, I don’t care, I don’t pay attention.”
Grace has spoken openly about her battle with mental health issues and how negative body image has played its part.
She added: “If you’re someone like me who’s plus size, you’ve never fit into what society thinks is beautiful, so my identity is constantly being barraged.
“That can wreak havoc on your mental health, because you start questioning who you are and if you’re good enough.”
Therapy helps keep Grace’s self-doubt at bay but also smaller things she does every day for her mental health.
She said: “Sleep is a massive thing for me. I think people really underestimate the power of sleep – I make sure I get at least eight hours a night otherwise I can’t function.”
Victory’s big tip for body positivity is surprising: “Don’t try and be body positive every day.”
But it makes more sense than you might think. There’s a growing trend for body neutrality – this idea of being at peace with how you look, rather than adoring or hating it.
She added: “Your body’s amazing – if it’s getting you from A to B no matter what ability you have, it’s really important to appreciate it.”
And she’s all about getting naked. “You can’t love your body if you can’t see it, so just get naked,” she said. “Get naked in a nonsexualised way – brush your teeth, do the washing up – just see your body for what it is and what it can do for you.” Jeans, £22, www.sainsburys.com Western boot, £175, www.jigsaw-online.com