.jpg)
There's no denying it: Clara Dao is a body positivity icon, whose fearless stance on self-love has seen her encourage her massive following to not only embrace their bodies, but truly strike up a romantic relationship with themselves.
It might come as a surprise, then, to learn that she hasn't always been so confident. In fact, Clara's passion for self-love and body positivity stems directly from the insecurity she suffered as a teen.
TheThings sat down with Clara to hear more about her journey to self-love and what it means to her to be able to help young women everywhere boost their own confidence today.
Clara Reveals That She First Felt Insecure At The Age Of 10
Clara may be an advocate for body positivity today, but she admits that, particularly in her teenage years, she suffered from low self-esteem — something she attributes to the toxic beauty standards imposed on young women and girls.
"I think I started feeling insecure when I was 10," Clara ponders, thinking back on her formative years, adding that her skinniness and small chest often caused her to question her self-worth.
"I never felt pretty enough, and I never felt like my body was good enough, for the longest time — right up until I was 19, in fact, which is when I really started my self-acceptance journey."
Clara also points out that, while she began the process of falling in love with herself at 19, that isn't always possible for many women.
"You know, we grow up in a society that puts ridiculous beauty standards on us - literally on children - and as an adult, you're [still] constantly bombarded with images and propaganda advertising, telling you you're not enough."
Clara Opens Up About Falling Into The Habit Of Comparing Herself To Others
"Before [I started my self-love journey], I always compared myself, wished I looked different, and wished I would wake up with a different face and body," Clara shares.
She goes on to explain that much of that was fueled by the images she stuck onto her mirror: "I printed out pictures of 'perfect' bodies and [stuck them there], because I just really wanted my body to look like that."
"That was very toxic," she sighs, adding, "it was very bad for my self-esteem and mental health." Another thing that added to poor mental health, Clara goes on, were the questions she would Google. "I would Google things like, 'why am I flat-chested?' [or] 'what's wrong with me?'" she recalls.
Clara Explains Why Poor Self-Image Is More Dangerous Than We Tend To Realize
There's no two ways about it: body shaming, no matter the body in question, has devastating consequences for the person going through it — and that's something Clara is acutely aware of.
"When you don't love yourself," — or are taught not to — "you attract people who also don't really love or accept you, because you accept the love you think you deserve."
"It really affects a lot of other things in your life, like the treatment you accept from others, and how you accept your life's circumstances," she continues. "You accept whatever life gives you and don't realize there's more."
"That's why," she nods, "it's so important to spread a message of body positivity."
How Clara Is Using Social Media For Good
While the insecurity Clara faced as an adolescent was no doubt informed by the images she was exposed to in the media in her younger years, today, she uses her own images to combat the very standards that once destroyed her self-confidence.
"I try my best to show more representation of my body type on social media," she explains.
"In a way," she wonders aloud, "I'm making the kind of content that the younger me would love to see."
"I would love it if, when a young girl Googles the same things I was, my content would come up and I could comfort them - and remind them that there's nothing wrong with them. They're still perfectly beautiful and gorgeous in their natural body, and they don't need to look a certain way to be beautiful."
Clara Dao's message is clear: all bodies are worthy of love, and it's time we all started believing it!
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGicsZucqsCqwsRmmqWZopZ6pa3OZpmonKlivbC%2FyK2gr6Gkrnq0scufZKWnppp6urvUraybnaJk