For decades, Jennifer Lopez has been viewed as somewhat of a sexy siren with a career as a dancer, singer, and actress. In her line of work, being fit and maintaining a certain look are par for the course.
Known for her voluptuous figure, – particularly her hips and derriere – she hasn’t been shy about baring her curves in photos or music videos. With that said, it’s hard to believe that people would find something to criticize about her body.
Lopez, a.k.a. JLo, shared that there were times early in her career that industry people around her told her she needed to lose weight. Where many people might struggle with confidence and self-acceptance based on that, she decided to shrug it all off.
It was easy for her because she grew up in a family that embraced their natural body shapes. In an interview with InStyle, she spoke about how her mother and grandmother taught her that they all were beautiful as they were. And that was the case in whole family:
“My dad loved my mom’s body—all the men in our family loved the women’s bodies. Being curvy or not being 6 feet tall was never a bad thing; it was actually something that was celebrated. And so, later on, when I brought that in front of the world, I wasn’t really trying to send a message. I was just being myself.”
She went on to talk about how she never tried to fit into the Hollywood standard at the time, which was somewhere around a size 0 or 1. Instead, she embraced her body for what it was and is:
“They’d say, ‘You should lose a few pounds,’ or ‘You should do this or do that.’ It finally got to the point that I was like, ‘This is who I am. I’m shaped like this.’ Everybody I grew up with looked like that, and they were all beautiful to me. I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I still don’t!”
Although we’ve seen some steps being taken in the entertainment industry to be more inclusive of women in various shapes and sizes, it’s been a long road. Women like Jennifer Lopez are fortunate that they came in the game with a strong mindset and sense of self.
The pressure of being in the spotlight isn’t easy for everyone to handle, but another thing JLo is making sure she does is instill the same values she was raised with in her children.
Particularly with her daughter Emme, she makes it a point to drill home what it means to have self-love, self-respect, and to expect respect from others as a female. She also emphasizes kindness and acceptance towards others!
At 48, Lopez is doing plenty to take care of herself and easily looks half her age. Judging by those sculpted abs, bright skin, and curves, her past shamers should be the ones who feel bad.
Did you realize people were disapproving of Jennifer Lopez’s body shape? Are you surprised or not by her response? Are you inspired by her attitude and self-love?
