Yolanda Hadid, former supermodel and mother to Gigi, Bella, and Anwar Hadid, celebrated her 55th birthday with a jaw-dropping selfie on Instagram. She also posted an impassioned caption, where she talked about going back to 1964 to her original, natural self after cleansing her body of breast implants, fillers, botox, and extensions.
She shared how the stereotyped notions of beauty in the society and years of working in the fashion industry conditioned her to believe that her authentic self wasn’t appealing enough. She further elaborated that in order to feel sexy, she underwent multiple surgeries and implants until the toxicity “almost killed” her.
This powerful message resonates with all of us, who at some point have (or still are) struggling with body dysmorphia–dissatisfied, anxious, and depressed by how we look. The portrayal of the ‘desirable female’ in popular culture, cinema, and the beauty industry has created unrelenting opinions and beauty ideals. We’ve been told that confidence, successful careers, and probable grooms come easy to fair-skinned and radiantly-grinning girls with hairless limbs and luscious mane. Guess what–we’ve all bought this farce so easily!
Over the last few months, we have seen a paradigm shift in an industry that has been infamous for elitism, exclusivism, and unrealistic beauty standards. Body positivity has changed our mindsets and now we are more open, liberal, and inclusive–thanks to the power of social media!
Yolanda further expressed: “Health is your wealth so please make educated decisions, research the partial information you’re given by our broken system before putting anything foreign in your body. It took me many years of undoing some bad choices I made for myself before I finally found the freedom to sustainable internal beauty and acceptance.”
Fighting lupus, a rare autoimmune condition–Yolanda currently advocates a simple, natural lifestyle and regularly promotes wellness. Author of Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease, she is a source of inspiration. More power to you, Yolanda!
