There’s
no easy fix for overcoming body-image issues, so one woman went to
extremes to overcome hers: walking around in nothing but paint.
Julie
volunteered herself to become living, breathing art at the hands
of Pusher House, a professional body painter. To do so, she stripped
down to just pasties and a pair of nude underwear. Then, House outlined a
design with a base coat followed by adding more details including
buttons, zippers, rips, and holes, as well as shading and highlights.
Lastly, sealant was sprayed all over Julie’s body to set the white
T-shirt and ripped jeans.
“Growing
up, I never really had much of an issue with my body image until
probably late high school,” she said. “I was in a musical and I had to
wear a leotard onstage. The next day at school I heard someone talking
about my cellulite on my legs. I was always really concerned with if I
looked skinny enough and that kinda planted a seed in my head.”
While
she was nervous at first, Julie’s fears were alleviated when she saw
the final product. “I’m not as scared now because it looks like I’m
wearing clothes,” she admitted, adding that wearing the painted
ensemble is almost like taking off a shield.
As
she walked around in front of multiple people, many didn’t notice until
she pointed out that there was something off with her outfit.
“I
feel like I conquered a really huge fear that I’ve had. Going outside
wearing only body paint is really similar to having insecurities,” she
said after the experience. “You feel naked or you feel all these
negative things about yourself that no one else sees, and no one else
understands.”
Tearing
up, she conceded, “Sometimes you overthink things and you don’t want to
do things because you’re scared of what other people are going to
think.” Her advice? Be strong and don’t listen to what other people say —
and do not let it matter so much, because it doesn’t. “What matters
inside is what counts the most, and that’s where your strength and your
beauty come from first.”
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