I remember last year starting to watch Pretty Little Liars for the first time, and immediately got hooked on the show. A couple weeks later after I binge watched every season, I went down the Instagram stalking usual of each actress, interested in what they do outside of Pretty Little Liars and what else they had in the works since I liked them so much. When I stumbled upon Sasha Pieterse’s Instagram, an image caught my eye that has now become full circle.
In the post, Sasha went on to tell her fans that people kept saying things to her about weight gain, and constantly felt pressure to lose weight or fit into a certain mold that people wanted her to be in. She wrote in the caption, “As a lot of you have noticed my body has gone through some changes. I have been facing a bad hormone imbalance that has thrown my body completely out of whack. We live in such a judgemental society that puts every kind of flaw, including weight gain, in the same category. And for those of you who are struggling with any health problem, hormone imbalance, and weight gain of any sort I urge and encourage you to please deal with it in a healthy manor.
She went on to explain that the definition of healthy wasn’t just about eating right or dieting, but achieving wellness, a balance of surrounding yourself with people who love you and support you in any form. Mind you, Pretty Little Liars is one of the most watched television show, especially for teen girls, so seeing Sasha who’s only 19 years old herself, talk about body image and pressures had a huge impact on young girls.
And now over a year later, Sasha decided to take on the body shamers once and for all. In the post she says, “I’ve always struggled with my weight and in my early teens I realized health was very important. My whole mindset and lifestyle changed for the better and I was really happy and confident in my body and the way I looked. I was proud that I had gotten to a place I was comfortable in and had done it in a healthy way. Then there became a point where my body changed dramatically.” After her body changed, because duh she is a growing woman and the body you have as a teenager isn’t necessarily the body you have as a grown woman, Sasha says fans would tell her that they were angry that she gained weight, and that speaking out only made the comments worse. “It disturbed me that so many females were so quick to tear me down on a subject that we all struggle with,” Sasha said.
She ends the letter by saying, “Do not lower yourself to people who refuse to grow higher. If you don’t love yourself you’ll continue to chase people who don’t love you either. Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself. Love yourself.”
