Yes. I have just admitted to the nation that I think I have a rather nice backside. Does this surprise you – in a “Wow, she’s a bit big for her boots!” way or perhaps in terms of “Gosh ….folks don’t admit what they like about themselves much do they!” way.
This feature came about last week when I was waxing lyrical about the benefit of wearing fixed braces on my teeth. I didn’t think twice about proudly showing off my pearly whites, after all, I’ve gone through a good few years of sore gums and a significant wad of cash to achieve my smile. Did that therefore give me the right to admit I was happy with part of my anatomy? Because I’d had to really work for it?
I could tell you a lot about the things I don’t love about my physical appearance but that would be dull. And somewhat predictable. Besides, since my body did something as amazing as grow an entire human I figured I should stop giving myself a hard time about the aspects I’m not a huge fan of and embrace the parts that are A-ok.
Which brings me back to my bum. It’s quite cute – it’s been compared to a “shelf” before but I choose to take that as a compliment. You could also say that it might be perhaps a little bit out of proportion with my petite frame (I sometimes have to squeeze it into otherwise well fitting jeans) but it’s pert and roundish and makes me feel feminine. I have by no means the perfect posterior, that belongs to Charlotte Church or um…Carol Vorderman? I’m sure they have both been crowned “rear of year” at some point or other. But it’s mine. And I like it.
Will I all of a sudden stop worrying about returning to my pre-pregnancy self anytime soon? probably not, but I am making a concerted effort to focus on far more important stuff.
What part of yourself do you love and why? Go on, share in the comments section below, DARE YOU.
As you read this, and in honour of your lovely arms/glossy locks/strong thighs/beautiful feet I shall be proudly sashaying my booty through the streets of London in a new pair of short shorts. I may not be Kylie Minogue but I am Charlotte O’Shea and you know what? I have a nice bum.
Well done you for being confident enough to say that! I think sadly women these days (myself included!) worry too much about the things we don’t like, and we get labelled as a bit full of ourselves if we talk about the things we think are pretty good. You never seem to hear us ladies talk about the good bits, only what we would like to change so I welcome this post whole heartedly. That said I struggle to find thing I like about myself as I need to get my bum back to the gym desperately, but if I had to pick I’d say I like my eyes. That may seem a bit lame but they are really dark chocolate brown and people comment on them a lot. Plus they say that the eyes are a window to the soul so I will take that to be a good thing! Thanks for making me feel a little more confident this morning!
Kayleigh! not lame at all! eyes are one the first things people notice after all. Mabel looks more like her Daddy (I think) but she does have my eyes, which makes me see mine in a new light (no pun intended) as I love hers – if that makes sense. Really dark brown eyes are stunning ( I know a girl Jessica who has the same – gorgeous) x
Me too! And years of being called “shelf-butt” by my family still failed to leave me self conscious. It’s one of the few parts of my body I’m happy with, though I wish it would fit into jeans properly. Takes me ages to find ones that accommodate my bum but also fit snug around my waist! (for anyone reading, J Brand and Topshop high-waisted Jaime jeans have been a revelation!)
Oooh Anna I have never tried Jamie! I wear Leigh already and I like those (good for shelves 🙂 )
My legs! They ran a marathon earlier this year and they look strong and sexy. I love them 🙂
Wow. I’d be pleased if I could run around the block. I hope you are wearing lots of shorts and teeny skirts x
This is one of the best posts on here! not big headed at all just really positive. I’m not feeling the love for any part of myself at the moment. Maybe this will help me to look harder or get off mon arse and do something!
Clare, there will be something – have a think, come back and tell me what it is please x
ahahahaha I imagined that in some frightening teacher tone!! ok well it doesn’t seem to matter what I eat/do I have always had toned calf’s. Actually forcing yourself (or someone else forcing you) to choose and find something does provide a wee lift. Thank you :). Lets make this a hash tag on instagram or something and make it a weekly thing! Women can be so cruel to themselves/eachother – we’ve got enough going on without that! x
Good idea Clare! What hashtag shall we use?
#rockmybody – then its almost an old school Justin T reference?!
I love this!!!!
haha. Feel free to ask me to join the RMS team any time you like 😀 I bake lovely cake 😛
My boobs! They’ve always been suitably ample, and not only that but they provided my daughter for 21 months AND they seem to have survived without acquiring the ‘sand in sock’ look that a lot of my friends complain about post-breastfeeding.
Yes, they could be a teensy bit more pert, but I’m almost thirty and gravity has an effect. And in a bra, no one knows that 😉
Milk for my daughter. They didn’t provide her!
Sara, glad you’ve said this. I quite like my boobs too…. I know! AND my bum?! Mine are smallish (32C) but haven’t altered even though I BF for a month or so. Sometimes I think it would be nice if they were bigger but actually I cam wear all sorts of tops and whatnot…. Plus I just wear a certain style of bra if I want them more um….. Prominent? Have you seen the lace bralets at Topshop? Gorgeous x
My legs 🙂 Very long and slim. Hard to find trousers to fit a lot of the time as most are too short but I’m very happy with them regardless!
Nice topic Charlotte, you’re right, we women never admit to thinking good things about our bodies.
Krysia, I do not have this problem, but glad you do! Long legs look immense in so many clothes…. You lucky lady you x
I LOVE this post! It’s a very good idea. My bum is huge. I am 5’2″. But I don’t really mind it. I wouldn’t describe it as my best feature at all but I really do wish I could tell my much younger self that all the time I spent being jealous of girls at school with smaller bums and much narrower thighs was wasted.
On the other hand, I am very fond of my long flowing locks, my green eyes and my boobs which are slightly more than a handful! Although, now I am pregnant, we’ll see how long they remain in my affections.. Xx
I bet your bum is as lush as your locks Jennifer. My thighs will never be super narrow but they are strong, and that’s pretty good I think. My boobs have remained the same, they did get a bit bigger during pregnancy which was a nice novelty x
Ha Ha Charlottle you do make me laugh! Refreshing to read about ‘likes’ instead of ‘dislikes’ for a change. Love my luscious pout
And my sons squishy baby bum 😉 It’s the best xxx
Ooooh Jennifer, I hope you wear lots of gorgeous glosses and lipsticks 🙂
Mabel has a teeny bum for her size! Doesn’t get that from me x
Aww, this is really cute. 🙂 I love love the positive-ness, women spend WAY too much time (me included) comparing themselves to airbrushed magazine photos! Shelf-like bums are so totally in fashion – thanks J.Lo and Kim K! I quite like my bum too, it’s nice to have something THERE (even if that means there’s too much to fill a pair of jeans – they should make jeans to fit everyone!).
I’ve never liked my legs but my fiance always compliments me on them and it’s made me feel a lot more confident about getting them out – because of that, I’ve had more photos with ’em on show and I’ve grown to like them a bit more.
I also like my smile! Well, actually, I like smiles – they’re brilliant on everyone. I’ve never met a person who doesn’t look amazing when they smile.
I too like smiles Kate! They totally change a face!
Interestingly I have never liked my legs yet my Husband does, I get them out much more these days x
My eyelashes, and the nail on my index finger on my left hand.
I have always admired that index finger nail Jen, it’s super special x
Excellent post! My bum. I have no other curves to speak of so my big bum makes me feel womanly. I used to hate it when I was younger but now I embrace it. I still get a facebook message from a boy at school every year saying ” Happy Birthday to you and your wonderful bum”. My sixteen year old self would blush and want to hide it but my 28 year old self smiles and goes to put on her bum hugging skinny jeans. 🙂
Ha hahaha this made me laugh !! Yay for roundy backsides x
Can I say my height? I’m 5″11 and although at school it might not always have been fun I have to say that I love being this tall 🙂 I can always see things (whether in a crowd, at a gig, at a sports thing, in a bar, in a club….). I don’t care if wearing heels makes me look slightly drag queeny – they also make my legs look ace! haha
Excellent thread 🙂
Drag Queeny? I bet you look supermodel-esque Lynn. Did you see Heidi Klum at the Emmys? She must have been 6ft 4 at least and looked AMAZING x
I should be good at this considering I run a self esteem charity but I do find it really hard! I would normally say my flat tummy (I’ve learnt its the positive that comes with wide hips!) but currently 4 months post birth its really not flat again…YET! Lame, but I’ll say my smile. I’m quite good at pulling out an approachable smiley face when I need to – which I’ve come to appreciate as its been useful for work, networking, weddings, general politeness! (of course I also use it naturally when I am happy too 🙂
It’s funny though – after 10 years working with teenage girls about self image issues it is nearly always the things that people don’t like about themselves that other people find the most attractive and endearing. I guess we are all so conscious of the things that make us different from other people and too fearful to stand out, but other people often see these as the beautiful qualities that make us unique.
I do think the media is worse than ever – promoting constant slimming and perfect this and that. I can’t imagine being a teenager “now”, there are enough things to worry about without all this added pressure that appears to be on everywhere you look these days.
Reminds me Amanda, I really need to get in touch with you! x
Super, I think you have my email? Xx Totally – so much harder these days.
I like my lips, they are quite plump, a nice shape and a nice pinky colour. I was told by a make up artist that people would pay good money for lips like mine so that must be a good thing! I also like my long eyelashes and my small waist.
Anna I am totes jealous. I do have the bit of the green eyes for anyone with a full pout 🙂
My sister does – why didn’t I get that gene pool eh?! x
I sooo agree with Clare! This is such a beautiful post. So simple, jet honest and empowering! Up until last year I would have said my hair, but then half of it fell out because of stress and it is just growing back… I really like my eyes. They are a mix between green and brown so they look different in different light. But what do I love about my body? I envy all of you who love your legs! I always wished I had longer ones because then my thighs would not be as big. However I start to like them much more since I am back at going for a run twice a week and doing some Tracy Anderson workout! They’ll never be as long or slim as others, but toned they don’t look that bad after all and fit my curvy bum almost perfectly
Anja I think Tracy workouts do great things for your legs! Mine will always be short and muscular but I do think they are more lithe since doing her smaller repetitive movements that she incorporates into her method.
Glad to hear you are enjoying exercising and that you also have a nice bum 🙂
Fab post lovely, good to see us ladies being positive about ourselves for once. I am absolutely terrible at only seeing the bad – the Mr constantly moans at me for this.
I guess I’d probably have to say my boobs are my best asset! They’re a bit too big for all the pretty high street store bras, but it just gives me a perfect excuse to shop in nice lingerie boutiques!! 😉 xx
Brilliant Rebecca – and lucky you! x