Camila Cabello has shared a powerful message after feeling ‘upset’ when papped wearing a bikini.
The Cuban-American singer-songwriter, 25, said she’s felt ‘super vulnerable’ and ‘unprepared’ after paparazzi captured her while at a beach club in Miami.
She explained how, when she’s worn bikinis that were ‘too small,’ she initially ‘paid no mind’ to how she looked, but felt ‘so upset’ after seeing the snaps online later.
Taking to social media with a lengthy statement, Camila touched millions of hearts as she detailed the struggles of being a woman in the public eye.
‘I reminded myself when it impacted my self-esteem that I was thinking the culture’s thoughts and not my own. A culture who has gotten so used to an image of what a ‘healthy’ woman’s body looks like that is completely not real for a lot of women,’ she wrote.
Proceeding to call out damaging beauty standards, Camila wrote: ‘Photoshop, restrictive eating, over exercising, and choosing angles that make our bodies look different than how they are in the moment and in their natural form, when we take a deep breath, when we eat a meal, when we allow the waves to tussle us around.’
On how she copes with negative body image, Camila added: ‘I remind myself of this, listen to podcasts on intuitive eating, follow women who accept cellulite, stretch marks, bellies, bloating and weight fluctuations.’
However, she ‘still’ struggles with the pressure to ‘look good’ as a single woman in her twenties.
She went on to share an anecdote of how she bought a new bikini to head to the pool today, put on lip gloss and didn’t eat anything ‘too heavy’ before going into the ocean, in preparation for the experience to be ‘a whole photoshoot.’
‘I held my core so tight my abs hurt and didn’t breathe and barely smiled and was so self conscious of where the paps were the whole time I couldn’t let go and relax and do what we’re meant to do when we go out into nature.
‘I tried to pretend they weren’t there but I couldn’t and I held my breath from my sun chair to the ocean.’
The Havana hitmaker shared her sadness of watching care-free toddlers ‘giggling with excitement at the waves knocking them over,’ saying they had ‘no sunglasses, no jewellery, no self-consciousness,’ and just the ‘innocence of children.’
‘I’ve never had a worse time at the beach,’ she admitted, despite knowing she ‘looked good’ and expecting that to make her feel ‘accomplished.’
Getting candid, the Grammy nominee continued: ‘I felt the emptiness and sadness of our culture’s thoughts that became my own thoughts.
‘I wanted to talk about this because we see pictures of women and praise them for looking good, looking fit, or ‘healthy,’ but what is health if you are so fixated on what your body looks like that your mental health suffers and you can’t enjoy your life?’
Camila then questioned who she is ‘trying to look attractive for’ and whether she is even attractive ‘to myself,’ as she shared her desire to be ‘playful’ on the beach.
‘I’m not yet at the point in my journey where I cannot give a f**k,’ she admitted, despite knowing deep down that her appearance doesn’t determine how happy or healthy she is.
The Bam Bam singer is prioritising her healing and therapy to ‘get back to feeling like seven-year-old me on the beach.’
‘I’m mourning her today, Happy, silly, breathing, pretending to be a mermaid, FREE.’
Camila’s comments were filled with love and support, with the likes of Paris Hilton praising her bravery.
‘🥺This made me cry. Thank you for writing this, so important for people to hear. You are beautiful inside and out🥰’ the businesswoman wrote.
This isn’t the first time Camila has voiced her opinions on unrealistic beauty standards, last year declaring that ‘being at war with your body is so last season.’
She’s previously shared how ‘grateful’ she feels for her body, and we’ve got to ‘own’ the things that make us who we are.
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