The Bikini Photo Every Woman Needs To See

To say that we live in a culture that is toxic to a woman's love of self is an understatement. Eating disorders and other psychological issues related to self - image are a struggle for an estimated 10 million women in the US alone.

Summer is an especially hard time for some women, who feel pressure from various sources to get the 'perfect' beach body that will look great in a bikini.

Lesley Miller is one such woman. As a girl, she struggled with self - injury due to her weight and self - image. She even had lap - band surgery in 5th grade in the hopes that this would help her lose weight and be healthier.

Miller decided that now, at age 21, she was tired of searching for the perfection that doesn't exist. She purchased her very first bikini and shared a photo of herself wearing it. Miller bares not just parts of her body she kept hidden all her life, she also bravely displays stretch marks, surgical and self - wound scars, and cellulite.

Miller's photo has gone viral, encouraging girls and women with similar struggles to remember the lesson she has finally learned herself.

“I want to learn to love all of myself, not just the parts I’ve been told are ‘acceptable,’” she wrote. “Because the secret is, I was always enough. And you are too.”

Click here to read more about Miller and her story.