Stretch marks are a funny old thing... Despite being a totally normal, gorgeous and even empowering part of the human body, many women (and, in fact, people of all genders) are still self-conscious about theirs. Which, while we can totally understand, is still super sad. Some companies are now making an effort to not airbrush out models' stretch marks (hallelujah!) and social media influencers are sharing more real body content than ever before. So, it kinda feels like now is the ultimate time to reclaim and learn to love our stretch marks.
From Queen of the Internet, Chrissy Teigen, to Kourtney Kardashian, here are some of our favorite celebrities who've posted stunning stretch mark photos, along with their thoughts on embracing body "imperfections." There's no such thing as a "perfect" or an "imperfect" body, remember...it's up to all of us to set our own individual beauty standards.
Lady Gaga
She was "Born This Way," and we're totally here for it. Huge respect to Lady Gaga for this stretch marks selfie, which garnered over a million likes.
Kourtney Kardashian
One third of the world's most famous trio of sisters, Kourtney posted this incredible boat shot which displays her stretch marks in all their glory. What's not to love about it?
Katie Holmes
The actress showed off her stomach stretch marks with pride on the front cover of Vogue Australia. Obsessed.
Jameela Jamil
The iWeigh founder is on a one woman mission to reframe the way we think about our bodies. Captioning a sunny selfie, she suggested we rename stretch marks "Babe Marks."
Ashley Graham
The model, known for being a body positive advocate, shared this super real photo of herself post-birth. She captioned the inspiring shot "Same me. Few new stories." Three cheers for Ashley!
Chrissy Teigen
The model/talk show host/icon has long been sharing photos of her stretch marks online. A snap of her thighs, that she captioned "Stretchies say hi!" went viral a few years back and Chrissy has been keeping it real on the gram ever since.
She also tweeted her thoughts on how body confidence can be a slow burner—and how it's okay not to be totally in love with the way you look, all of the time: "Instagram is crazy. I think it’s awesome people have killer bodies and are proud to show them off (I really do!!) but I know how hard it can be to forget what (for lack of a better word) regular ol' bodies look like when everyone looks bonkers amazing. Also I don't really call this 'body confidence' because I'm not quite there yet. I'm still super insecure. I'm just happy that I can make anyone else out there feel better about themselves!"
Stacey Solomon
The bubbly TV personality describes her stretch marks as "natural glitter" and says she loves the way they look, especially when the sun catches them.
Iskra Lawrence
If there's one person who can always be relied on for a bit of self-loving, it's British model Iskra Lawrence. She talked about embracing your body in this unreal bikini post.
Kayla Itsines
Famed for her workout plans, the fitness influencer said she's "proud" of her stretch marks after being asked by fans if she had any. "I am a woman, and I am proud to be one and have these marks! Some of us wont have any at all, some will have them just like me and others will be completely different. We all have them, mine are on the sides of my legs...for now."
Robyn Lawley
The Australian megababe took to social media to proudly display her "bad ass tiger stripes" and inspired a whole load of others along the way.
Kelly Rowland
When the Destiny's Child legend posted this swimsuit shot, she chose to reference Kendrick Lamar's song Humble (which slates the use of Photoshop) in her caption. The lyrics in Kendricks song include "I'm so sick and tired of the Photoshop... Show me somethin' natural like ass with some stretch marks." A serious power move.
Demi Lovato
After shaking off the shackles of Photoshop, Demi pledged to only post "real" photos of herself online. We think she looks gorgeous! She also shared a series of Instagram stories in which she discussed having cellulite, stretch marks and a lack of thigh gap—but still "loving herself."
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This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.com/uk. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.
