Michelle Elman is a blogger and Instagram star.
She’s also a body confidence coach and body positivity advocate.
A few years back when the #bodyposi hashtag first hit social media, everybody talked about gaining weight, losing weight, and how to get used to liking your body no matter what size you were.
Very few people, however, talked about scars.
Michelle wanted to change that.
The confidence coach has experienced 15 major surgeries in her life time.
She had a brain tumour, a cyst in her brain, a punctured intestine and obstructed bowel.
She also suffered from hydrocephalus, a medical condition that causes fluid to build up on the brain.
Michelle details the physical and emotional effects all of these surgeries had on her on her Instagram page.
Using the hashtag #scarrednotscared, she wants to encourage other women to be okay with the scars on their bodies, and know that they are not worth any less because of them.
In one of her latest posts (above), Michelle lists the ways that society likes to tell people to be ashamed of their scars.
She says that she often hears the likes of the below in relation to her own body:
“You are lucky they aren’t on your face.”
“Did you not use bio oil after the surgeries?”
“You are so brave.”
“You are so unlucky.”
“There’s always plastic surgery.”
Michelle says that seeing as she received her first scar when she was just one year old, comments like these means that even as a young girl, she was being told to cover up and not be proud of herself.
She says that while her scars do not define her, they are part of her.
“My scars can not be removed from my body.
“You can’t talk about my scars without talking about me as a human, a whole, complete person. What you say about my scars, is what you are saying about me.”
“I am not despite my scars.
“I am not in spite of my scars.
“I am who I am BECAUSE of my scars, both physical and emotional.”
Despite her positive message, Michelle has been accused of editing her photographs.
She’s even received comments from people asking why she doesn’t focus her photos on the scars themselves.
But for her, she knows that the scars are just a part of her – not the whole package.
“Do not confuse my lack of underwear photos as a sign that I’m not totally and completely confident,” she said.
Even so, thousands of Instagram users regularly show their support for Michelle’s #scarrednotscated campaign.
Every time she posts a photo, she has hundreds of people applauding her inspiring messages and sending their own comments of support.
And we can see why too.
