Michelle Elman es una activista y coach de imagen corporal de 23 años, que se aburrió de cargar con el estereotipo de la “amiga gorda” y su negativa connotación.

Por lo mismo, decidió que era hora de hacer algo al respecto para abrir algunas mentes.

La joven, que suele motivar a otras chicas para mejorar su autoestima y amar su cuerpo,fue sometida a 15 cirugías cuando era más pequeña -para tratar un tumor cerebral, intestino perforado, intestino obstruido, un quiste cerebral e hidrocefalia-, lo que hizo que quedara con varias cicatrices, entre ellas, algunas en su abdomen que parecen “rollitos”. Por lo mismo, durante mucho tiempo evitó mostrar su vientre en público.

Pero en julio de 2014, Michelle decidió dejar de esconderse y usó un bikini por primera vez. En ese entonces relató su experiencia en su blog personal, y desde entonces se ha convertido en una activista de la imagen corporal positiva.

Y ahora, decidió dar otro paso al usar su vitrina en Instagram -donde posee más de 36 mil seguidores- para abordar otro tema que ha enfrentado durante casi toda su vida.

Michelle publicó una foto de sí misma junto a una amiga, en la que ambas usan un pantalón y un sostén, cuando estaban a punto de saltar en un fiordo de Noruega.

“Hay un estereotipo alrededor de ser la ‘chica gorda’ en un grupo de amigas”, escribió. “Ella es la que se sienta a la orilla y nunca en medio del grupo. Ella es la perpetuamente soltera, que se sienta en silencio mientras todas sus amigas hablan de su vida amorosa y si por milagro encuentra un novio, ella nunca estaría cómoda desnuda o en el dormitorio. Es la insegura, la que constantemente se queja de su cuerpo y habla de dietas”, añadió.

Pero Elman dice no estar de acuerdo con esto. “No podría ser más mierda este estereotipo. Desde los 11 años, siempre he sido la ‘amiga gorda’, pero nunca he sido esa chica. Incluso con todas mis inseguridades alrededor de mis cicatrices, y mi cuerpo en general, nunca fui la chica que se sentó en la orilla. Me rehusé porque mi orgullo, mi ego, y mis cirugías nunca me dejaron ser la persona que se perdió en la vida”, señaló.

“La diferencia entre ahora y antes es que no dudé, cuando mi amiga sugirió saltar en el Fiordo, yo pensé ‘¡claro que sí!’. Antes hubiera dicho sí a regañadientes, pasaría el tiempo escondiendo mi cuerpo tanto como sea posible hasta el último momento, sin duda llevaría una polera y definitivamente no habría tomado fotos”
, indicó.

“Ahora, yo soy la que sugiere tomar fotos, fui la primera en sacarme la polera y la idea de que mi cuerpo era diferente no estaba ahí”, aseguró.

“El hecho de que conozco a muchas chicas -gordas o flacas- que se perderían oportunidades como ésta, es lo que alimenta mi positividad corporal. La positividad del cuerpo no se trata de ser capaz de tomarte selfies en ropa interior, es sobre no dejar que tu ropa interior o tu traje de baño sea la razón por la que no estás participando”, manifestó.

“Y en última instancia, cuando estás alrededor de la gente adecuada, no te sentirás como la ‘amiga gorda’. No miro estas fotos y me veo como la extraña. Miro las fotos y veo los recuerdos y cómo nos divertimos”, finalizó.

There's a stereotype around being the "fat girl" in a friendship group. She's the one who sits on the sidelines and never joins in. She's the one perpetually single and sits silently while all her friends discuss their love life because god forbid, if she actually find a boyfriend, she would never be comfortable naked or in the bedroom. She's the insecure one, the one constantly complaining about her body and talking about diets. I couldn't call bullshit more on this stereotype. Since the age of 11, I have always been the "fat" friend but I have never been THAT girl. Even with all my insecurities around my scars, and my body in general, I was never the girl who sat inside – I refused to because of my pride and ego and my surgeries never let me be the person who missed out on life. The difference between now and then is that there's no hesitation, there are no second thoughts and when my friend suggested jumping in the Fjord, I was all "Hell yeah!". Before I would have said yes reluctantly, spent the time hiding as much of my body as possible until the last moment, definitely worn a top and definitely wouldn't have taken photos, let alone been in them. Now, I'm the one suggesting photos, I was the first to whip off my top and the thought that my body was different wasn't there. The fact that I know many girls, fat or skinny, would miss out on opportunities like this is what fuels my body positivity. Body positivity isn't about being able to take underwear selfies, it's about not letting your underwear or your swimsuit be the reason you aren't taking part. And ultimately when you are around the right people, you won't EVER feel like the "fat friend". I don't look at these pictures and see me as the odd one out. I look at the pictures and see the memories and the three bodies that we had fun in! #ScarredNotScared Swipe for a video of me high pitch screaming as I jump in!

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Cabe destacar que no es la primera vez que Michelle muestra fotos de su abdomen en Instagram.`Ella no tiene complejos en mostrar su cuerpo tal y como es.

WHY I AM IN BODY POSITIVITY – I worried more about my head being shaved than a brain surgery – I worried more about the scar that was created in a 12 hour surgery than whether I would survive that surgery – I worried about having a permanent bald patch on my head more than I did about the fact I had a brain tumour – I worried about weight gain when I started eating after 3 months, rather than celebrating the fact that I was recovered enough to let food pass my lips – I worried about my hair falling out from the multiple surgeries more than I worried about the effect of that anaesthesia on my body – I worried about how slow I was running instead of being grateful for my ability to move – I worried more about what people would say about my body than the fact that my body still worked – I worried more about not being treated like a "weirdo" than processing my emotions – I worried if my body would be the deciding factor to not date me than the fact that the person I date must be there to support my illnesses too – I worried more about the stigma of mental and physical illness more than I worried about myself AND MOST OF ALL… I am in body positivity because each sentence above was written in the past tense and that is only possible because of body positivity. My body positivity is intrinsically linked to my hospital experiences. Every serious incident came with superficial worries about the consequence on my appearance. Every day when I should have been thinking about very real life or death situations, I instead worried about what I looked like. It's why I continue to embrace my scars and why they symbolise more than the physical marks on my body. In every sense of the word, I am Scarred Not Scared #scarrednotscared

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TODAY IS MIRROR APPRECIATION DAY. Ok fine, that isn't a thing but can it be pleassseee? 🙏🏽 I was scrolling through my phone and found a few selfies and it made me realise how long it's been since I hated my reflection. It's been a bloody long time since I used a mirror as a weapon. It's been years since I was that girl who used them to check for weight gain, pulling at my skin, yanking my hips wishing they would disappear. That girl deserved so much love and I'm so happy that I can give it to her now. I now kinda love mirrors, in a way that it's like seeing an old friend. Whether I'm in the most skin tight outfit I've ever worn whilst trying on skiing thermals or I'm in a sports bra and sweating it out, or completely naked (no picture for this one! 😂), I'll welcome my reflection any day because I'm ok with saying hi to me. 👋🏽 There was a point where I would shy away from mirrors but now I'm in love. I look in the mirror and I see my life. I look at my body and this mother instinct perks up because I'm seriously protective of this body. This body has been through enough and I'm so proud of it for getting us through everything. So today is mirror appreciation day. Thank you for letting me see my smile, my emotions, my body. Thank you for reminding me where I come from with parts of my culture coming through. Thank you for helping me see my Chinese eyes that used to get mimicked, as beautiful. Thank you for helping me realise when they get small, I'm usually grinning my biggest grin and that's what's important. Thank you for helping me see my British unruly hair that used to get me in trouble at school, as beautiful. Thank you for helping me realise that it is symbolic of my personality, as opposed to something that needs to be tamed. Thank you for helping me see my Jewish bum and hips that I was told "would at least be good for childbearing", as beautiful. Thank you for helping me be proud of having my grandma's curves and realising that childbearing wasn't the only positive to having this figure. Thank you to all mirrors everywhere for helping me get to know my body because as my phone case says it makes me SO FUCKING happy 😁 #scarrednotscared

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Here's to posting all the pictures we hate. My belly rolls were created for me when I was 7 years old… or at least that's when I noticed them, and called them rolls. My rolls were created by surgeons, not by fat. They were created for my health, not in spite of it. They were created for my survival, not for my beauty. They don't just exist when I sit but when I stand as well. They are how I experienced the stigma of being fat, before I was fat. They showed through my T-shirts and even my tankinis and whilst I could hide my scars, I couldn't hide the rolls they created. The deepest cut is the one at the bottom which is the accumulation of 5 surgeries. That was created when I was 11 when I had to have an emergency operation. They had screwed up my previous operation and my intestines were leaking into my abdomen. My dad was called and told to fly over instantly, just in case I didn't make it. And yet when I look at this scar, all I can think about is how my heart broke when I put on a T-shirt for the first time. I stared in the mirror and cried. I had already had 9 surgeries before that one, but this one couldn't be hidden. "I'm never going to be beautiful again" I had been in a hospital for 3 months, and hadn't been allowed to leave yet the day I was allowed to, I didn't want to go in that t-shirt because I was embarrassed. I was so scared of looking fat, that I would rather stay in hospital another day, than leaving in that T-shirt. And that is what the fear of fat is about. THAT is why I fight the fear of fat. THAT is why I will always fight the fear of fat, whether I am fat or not. #scarrednotscared

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🎊HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 🎊 🐓KUNG HAI FAT CHOY🐓Speaking of fat, here's one for my Asian curvy babes. We are a rare breed. We are an exclusive species. And we are beautiful. I want to speak specifically to the Asians out there. The Asians that don't get seen in the bopo community, the Asians that don't feel seen on billboards in their own country or heard on TVs in their own language. The Asians that feel practically invisible in every store that you walk into because your figure and your body shape is not welcome. YOU ARE SEEN. YOU ARE HEARD. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. I specifically say curvy, and not fat, because even being the higher end of straight size is controversial over there. They struggle just as much as the fat babes because it is all put into one category over there – the "not good enough" category. I am going to use the word curvy because, you already hear that other word too much. In China at least, it's always the first comment when saying hi. "Wow, you've got fat" "Don't eat so much" "Fat is not pretty" It is not just the first conversation but every conversation. In a culture where food is currency, it becomes even more puzzling that those same people will be the ones surrounding you with food for the rest of the evening. You will be told you are disrespectful for declining it and yet you are somehow meant to changing your body at the same time because SOMEHOW you weren't blessed with the small bone structure and petite frame that would do your ancestors proud. It still confuses me. It confuses me how merely existing offends my fellow Asians so much. Let alone existing in a happy body. A body that feels comfortable to wear short dresses that show some of your thigh! Shock horror 🙈 let alone when you take it off and there's a bikini underneath 👙 so tonight when I am celebrating Chinese New Year, I will be thinking of all of you and sending you all my love. You aren't seen enough, but there are a lot of us out there – I promise. Happy Year of the Rooster – I'm a rooster so I can officially declare that this is our year! 😉 🐓 • Did a rant in my stories about Asian jokes if you want to educate yourself on not being a dick 😂

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A massive thank you to @omgkenzieee for including #scarrednotscared in her #selflovebootcamp – beyond honoured to be included in such an incredible project. I have been seeing all the love that you guys have been giving each other and especially to the newbies in the bopo community and I am seriously INSPIRED. I am Michelle Elman and I am the creator of Scarred Not Scared. I have had 15 surgeries, a brain tumour, a punctured intestine, an obstructed bowel, a cyst in my brain and a condition called Hydrocephalus. I started my campaign because I never saw a body like mine and I wanted to create a space for people who had been through surgeries so that we had a platform to talk about the struggles of illness and disabilities. In July 2014, I decided to wear a bikini for the first time. The exact bikini you see above and I wrote a blog post called "People With Scars Can't Wear Bikinis" that launched my campaign which proceeded to go viral. In 2015, I released a video that shared just some of the amazing stories that people shared with me after I went viral, and that went viral again. Scarred Not Scared is about.. – Embracing and accepting your scars – Realising that your scars are a part of your story – Knowing that your illnesses, disabilities and scars are only a part and not your whole story – Recognising that every part of the journey is a valid and appropriate reaction to your trauma, accident, surgery or recovery – Knowing you aren't alone, although at times it might seem like it – Recognising the magic of having survived – Appreciating your body for how it works – Realising that a working body is simply one that keeps you breathing – Understanding your worth is not dependent on your health or your body – Being unafraid in facing the emotional scars that accompany the physical ones – Knowing that everyone has scars, some of us just wear the evidence on our skin Forever #scarrednotscared

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