Rugby player Ilona Maher lets her followers know that having cellulite is normal.
The 27-year-old, who played on the 2020 US Olympic team, recently posted a video on TikTok showing her cellulite up close during a game, commenting that many people thought it was “embarrassing” or “so gross”.
“This is my leg from the last rugby tournament,” she said, pointing to the cellulite on her thighs in the photo. “I am a literal Olympian. I am a professional athlete. I run all day. I lift weights all day, all the time. And my legs still look like that.”
“I have cellulite all over,” Maher continued. “It’s completely normal, completely natural. It does not diminish your athletic ability or your speed or fitness. It’s just something that’s part of your body. We all have it.”
“I rocked cellulite,” she captioned the post.
Ilona Maher shows cellulite on her legs.
Ilona Maher/TikTok
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Maher has often been vocal about body positivity on social media. In 2022, the star posted another video on TikTok showing off her body and letting her followers know that “every body is beautiful”.
“Hey everyone, just your monthly reminder that this is a professional athlete’s body,” she said in the clip. “This is the body of an Olympian. It’s not perfect. It’s not completely skinny, it’s not completely toned, but this body is amazing and it’s doing amazing things for me.”
“There is no one body type for athletes or women, so today I want you to look in the mirror and appreciate what you have, understand what it does for you and remember that you are beautiful,” she added.
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Ilona Maher.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images
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Maher has had a huge following on social media since the Tokyo Games when she shared a behind-the-scenes look at the Olympic Village that went viral. Since then, she has used her platform to share her experiences with body shaming as an athlete and inspire other girls and women to be more confident.
Last summer, the athlete told NBC Sports that her videos are aimed at younger girls so they have role models, noting that she never had that as a child.
“I think, like a lot of muscular, broad women, we’re told our whole lives that being a woman means being tiny and petite and beautiful, but for me, I’m just not,” Maher said at the time. “It’s never me. I will never be that tiny, petite woman, I will be this big, muscular woman. It’s something that I’m very passionate about, because I don’t feel like I’m doing this body positivity thing really for myself, but for other young girls.”
“Even I in high school would like to see someone like this, praising their body, showing them what they can do,” she added. “It’s for other young girls who are constantly called masculine because they’re strong, because they like to be strong. Helping others helps me really accept that, because this is who I am and that’s not going to change.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education