Since she was 15 years old, Victoria D’Ariano has struggled with a dimple on her backside.
The Ontario, Canada-based trainer and fitness competitor recently shared her thoughts in an Instagram post, explaining just how and why the dimple bothered her so much. The now-viral Instagram post has garnered more than 27,000 likes and 1,000 comments.
“Dear Butt Dimple, I remember the first day you appeared. I was 15 years old,” D’Ariano wrote. “Since then you have had a hugely negative impact on my life. Since then you have made me feel less about myself. You not only made me feel fat, but also unworthy. You have always had an impact on what I chose to wear.”
The now 24-year-old said she had avoided wearing bikinis and certain leggings, in an effort to lessen her worries about the dimple. She spoke about the stress her dimple caused her, the amount of exercising she did in the hopes of making it go away and the treatments she contemplated buying for it.
“You took a lot of joy away from me, you caused a lot of stress for me, you made me insecure and took away my confidence. I could never feel in shape as you were always there,” D’Ariano said.
But after many years of letting the dimple bother her, D’Ariano said she has finally made peace with that part of her body.
“I am writing you today to tell you I have finally stopped letting you win. You will no longer make me feel unworthy, not good enough or not in shape because of you,” D’Ariano said. “I will no longer be afraid to wear certain bathing suits or leggings because of you. I will no longer hide you. You are what you are and I have finally come to peace with that. I have finally accepted you,”
#FreeTheBooty is right!
In an interview with HuffPost, D’Ariano said the photo is a part of a series she started called “Courage To Be You.”
“As someone who has dealt with and been medicated for depression and anxiety along with having body image issues I am finally opening up about all of this in hopes to shed light on these topics,” she said. “I want to be a part of the movement that helps fight against stigma towards mental health.”
In the days since D’Ariano posted the inspiring photo, she said she’s received both positive and negative reactions.
“For those who have ever had body image issues they can relate and this sheds light on the topic and makes them feel like aren’t alone. These people react positively as this photo helps them,” she told HuffPost. “For those who don’t understand the severity of mental health and the implications it can have on things, they see this as stupid, and thus react negatively.”
“[Some people] view women like myself, who have insecurities, body image issues and other mental health problems as ‘privileged.’ People want to compare struggles, they don’t think that if you look a certain way or live a certain life you should be able to have struggles.”
She added, “Unfortunately for a lot of people, myself included mental health issues don’t discriminate. You can have the best of everything in the world but if you have these problems it won’t matter and this is what people fail to understand.”
Hopefully, more people will come to understand that through D’Ariano’s powerful pictures and messaging.
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