Rachael Forster is not having any of your body-shaming bs.

From thin to thick, Rachael is a firm believer that all bodies are beautiful. She’s been through her own issues, but has come out of them as a strong supporter of women, a healthy critic of the media, and wise beyond her years.

Rachael, like many women, suffered from an eating disorder due to the heavy weight of societal pressures. “I can remember exactly when it started. I was 14 and hadn’t lost the normal post-prepubescent chub and on top of it, I had shot to a DD breast size, sprouted hips, and a nice round tush,” says Forster. While this may sound like the “dream body” for women over the age of 18, this can be a nightmare for  young girls. Sadly, young women often Regina George situations like this and use them to harm others. “A girl was upset that I didn’t invite her to a party and her way of getting back at me was to write online about me. She said a lot of mean things, but the one that stuck out was that I was, ‘fat and everyone knew it.’ She said being fat was ‘disgusting,'” said Forster.

Between the mean girls and her dance company telling her to lose weight, the pressure became insufferable. Rachael found herself battling a severe case of anorexia, but she won. She picked herself back up, and became an actress and a blogger. Unfortunately, the body battering did not end there. “When I lived in LA, people would tell me I was ‘soooo curvy,’ but in a way that sounded more like, ‘Can you lose 10 pounds…'” said Forster. She brushed off those critiques, said no to the haters, and continued on with her raw, unedited self. “Checking in on pictures of yourself is actually an extremely useful tool for someone with anorexia. It helps you put it in perspective. I want to see myself unedited,” said Forster.

Those are real goals. To WANT to see yourself unedited. Not just not photoshopped, but just-rolled-out-of-bed unedited. Just ran a mile and my face is flushed, unedited. Those are the moments where we are arguably the most genuine, and there’s nothing more beautiful than someone’s genuine self. Rachael seems to get that in a way that society does not.

“It’s insufferable. The media is a scary place for females. Not only are we constantly sexualized but criticized,” said Forster. She continued,”You can be called fat or ugly but then the next day, thick and beautiful, all while being a size 2. One bad angle makes people feel they have the right to try and put you down.”

How important is that. They feel they have the right. They don’t, but how do we tell them that? How the heck do we explain to people that bodies that belong to others are not theirs to critique?!

We all would like an answer to that right away, but Rachael is strategically putting her focus elsewhere. “For me, developing self love was never really about the bullies themselves. It was always about not having an internal struggle. I don’t want to feel sad if someone says, ‘You have cellulite on your thighs,'” said Forster. That’s an amazing place to start. It is so Eleanor Roosevelt, but she really did have a point about inferiority and consent.

Rachael continued, “So, the first thing is to acknowledge what you don’t like about yourself because bullies only have fuel to add to the fire if you give it to them. Once you acknowledge it, then really truly ask yourself what is wrong with it? At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong with my cellulite. There are cultures that thought skinny is ugly, and a woman needed to have fat and cellulite to be attractive. So, I have learned to love my body by realizing that we were sort of programmed not to like our body by our society. Now, if someone says, ‘You have cellulite,’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I do and your point is?'”

Rachael, consider that our new mantra. And your point is… Who knew that middle school phrase would hold so much power.

If we accept ourselves, it becomes much harder for anyone to try and break us down. Much easier said than done, but it is possible. We might take another hint from Rachael and use our mirrors for some good.

“Nudity is a big one for me. I think the natural form of a women is so gorgeous and should be cherished. It doesn’t matter what size you are. There is a lot of freedom in feeling good naked,” said Forster.

Consider us converts. Next time you have a chance, just wear your crown.

Check Rachael out on her platforms:

IG: ItsRachaelForster

Twitter: RachaelSForster

Blog: Couture Don Bleu