2017.08.09 Women's Health
Everyone has an opinion about a woman's body. What's fit, what's sexy, what's strong, what's too strong, what size it should be—up top, down below, all around. Enough! At WH, the only opinion we want to hear about a woman's body is from the owner of that body. So we passed the mic to eight provocative public figures, from actresses and athletes to a body-positive model and singer. We simply gave them one prompt, then pressed record: "My naked body is ..." What follows are their words—some uplifting and inspiring, some complicated and heart-wrenching—but all as bare as their bodies.
Sofia Vergara, actress, entrepreneur
"My naked body is ... I don't know. ... I want to look my age, but I want to look great. I think if you are obsessed with this 'I want to look younger' thing, you're going to go crazy."
Maggie Q, actress, entrepreneur
"My naked body is ... a temple and a gift. ... People think you're so lucky to be skinny, so they have a license to say mean things about your body. It used to hurt me. Now, it makes me laugh."
Chelsea Miller, model, body-positive activist
"My naked body is ... unique, vulnerable, but also incredibly powerful. One day my sister was visiting me and said, 'Do you realize how many times today you've said you're fat?' I'd said it out loud at least six times that day. It was only noon. That was kind of my aha moment. I realized I talk so badly about myself to myself all the time."
Franchesca Ramsey, comedian, writer
"My naked body is ... a place I'm newly comfortable with. ... In acting school, we had to write stories about ourselves and our bodies, and it was the first time I talked about having lopsided
boobs. I was so nervous, but so many girls were like, 'Oh my god, me too!' I was like, 'How cool that talking about your own body insecurities can help yourself but also help other people.'"
Dana Vollmer, Olympic swimmer, gold medalist
"My naked body is ... strong. ... Being pregnant was a positive for me too—the realization that my body has created a new life. That's one reason why coming back to the sport after the birth of my son went so well."
Anna Victoria, trainer, fit-fluencer
"My naked body is ... a reminder that I am human, and that I'm perfectly imperfect. ... Having lived in Rome for three years changed my perspective. In Europe, nakedness is not something to be embarrassed about—it's not taboo like it is here; it's just a human body, no big deal. That's helped me open up more and not be embarrassed by my body."
Rose Namajunas, mixed martial artist, UFC athlete
"My naked body is ... the story of my whole life. ... My hands look like my dad's and my mom's put together. She's a piano player, he was an artist, and I use the creative qualities I got from them in my fighting."
Betty Who, singer, model
"My naked body is ... the body I was given in this life. ... Everybody is different, and that's not really something you understand when you're young—that every singe human being feels they're not perfect. Even the girls you looked to as being perfect, they always feel like someone else is."
