Model Adriana Lima denounced society’s “superficial values” and opened up about the body image pressures that come with her job in a statement posted via Instagram on Saturday.
The Victoria’s Secret Angel posted a screenshot in which she expressed solidarity with women everywhere who feel the need to look or behave a certain way because of society’s expectations.
“I have my own things/insecurities too, I am not afraid anymore to express them, they are part of me,” Lima shared in the statement. “My job puts me in such a big pressure to look a certain way, I was thinking, how we woman have to carry so much ... I am tired of the impositions, we ‘as woman’ can’t be continuing living in a world with such superficial values, it’s not fair for us.”
The Brazilian star said she wanted to make a change on behalf of her grandmother, mother and daughters. Lima then elaborated in the caption, explaining that she was recently asked to film a “sexy video” of herself for social media but turned it down after speaking with a friend about body image issues.
“Something had changed in me, when a friend approached me to share that she was unhappy with her body, then it made me think ... that everyday in my life, I wake up thinking, how do I look? Was I going to be accepted in my job?” Lima wrote on Instagram. “And in that moment I realized that [a] majority of woman probably wake up every morning trying to fit in a stereotype that society/socialmedia/fashion etc imposed ... i thought that’s not a way of living and beyond that ... that’s not physically and mentally healthy, so I decided to make that change ... I will not take [off] my clothes anymore for [an] empty cause.”
It’s unclear whether the model’s vow involves leaving her job as a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Lima was seen modeling the brand’s lingerie at the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai last month.
At the time, Lima told People magazine she wasn’t going to retire just yet and planned to walk the runway for Victoria’s Secret again.
“Two more years,” she told the magazine. “Maybe more, I don’t know. It’s nature. I’m working out, I’m being healthy, so let’s see how the body is going to turn out. But I enjoy it.”