oday we have the pleasure of speaking with Bailey, and boy was it a great one!
1. How have you struggled in the past to appreciate or love your body and how have you overcome that struggle?
As long as can remember I've struggled with my body image. I constantly needed validation that I was beautiful and worthy. From being a mixed race baby to being an athlete, a mother, and a model, I have constantly faced and have been confronted with issues surrounding my body. I have been bullied, shamed for my skin and athletic build; my racial ambiguity, and my maternal status. I’ve experienced body shaming within my own family concerning the way I dress and wear my hair. I had never fully felt accepted as I was.
When it comes to fully loving and accepting my body, it's been quite a journey. What helped me was speaking life and truth into other women. Hearing myself build other women up, made me not only understand myself better, it actually changed me as a person. In the end it helped me change the most important voice, my inner dialogue.
2. What do you love most about your body?
I love how strong my body is, how my body makes me feel this constant movement with a flow of higher energy. I love how grounded and at home I feel in my body, how it has served me all these years through thick and thin. Physically, I love my spots and the way that my skin is an ever changing work of art that I get to explore every few months.🥰
3. What does self love mean to you?
To me self-love means, embracing every part of myself while honoring the things I love about my body. More importantly not allowing others to make me feel guilty about the things I don’t like as much about myself. This means unfollowing all trends, because it’s about honoring what self-love means to me. Self-love means doing what I feel compelled to do, and makes me feel the best.
4. What message do you have for other women who struggle to appreciate and love their bodies?
It’s ok to struggle. It is perfectly normal to feel the way you are and trust me, you are not alone. It’s part of the process that's telling you, you are ready for change. I can’t tell you what to do, because thats for you to find out what works for you.
What I can tell you, is when you start seeking truth and intentionally find ways to love yourself, soon enough those small steps add up to big shifts and changes in your life. I am living proof that if you fight through your difficulty, you WILL reach the other side and, QUEEN, it's amazing here. I wish nothing but to meet you here in this place of liberation from others opinions of you and even your own harsh judgment of yourself. Find what works for you, take one intentional step at a time, be patient, give yourself grace, expect challenges, listen to your body, and don't be afraid of the lessons that come from failure. 🥰
To follow Bailey's journey find her on IG: @TheQweenBayOfficial
Visit Bailey's Gallery for her beautiful wall art at www.obaregallery.com/artist-profiles/qween-bay
