Champion UFC Fighter Ronda Rousey has taken the world by storm this year in more ways than one! Inside the ring, the athlete is known for taking down her competitors with unmatched skill. Outside the ring, however, she is becoming known for something else—her continous body-positive messages that she is adament about sharing. Read below for the seven amazing messages the fighter has shared with us about body image.
Her idea of perfection has nothing to do with her appearance
In an interview with ESPN, Rousey described her definition of perfection. She said, “I like having a day where I can balance everything. My idea of paradise is to wake up in the morning, have coffee, go surfing or skimboarding, get in the ocean somehow. Then eat breakfast and go train, come home, chill with my dog and my friends and a big plate of buffalo wings and some sort of dessert a la mode.” We feel you, girl!
She believes that being a badass means doing what's right
Talking to SELF, Rousey highlights the importance of doing the right thing no matter how uncomfortable or difficult it might be. "If you do what's right regardless of how it's going to make you look, then you're really a bad ass," the fighter said.
She laughs at haters who call her too 'masculine'
Rousey spoke about body-shamers in an interview for the video series UFC Embedded. "I think it's hilarious when people say my body looks masculine or something like that," she said. "I’m just like, listen, just because my body was developed for a purpose doesn’t mean it’s masculine. I think it’s femininely badass as f**k, because there’s not a single muscle on my body that isn’t for a purpose."
She has overcome her own body image issues
Rousey told ESPN that she was insecure over the way she looked until she was about 22 years old. “What changed for me is I was thinking I always wanted my body to look a certain way to be happy,” she said. “But when I made myself happy first, then the body came after. It was a journey of self-discovery and trial and error.”
She reminds us that confidence is valid
In 2012, Rousey wrote a post on the UFC website that called out her haters who called her conceited. She wrote, "Some people like to call me cocky or arrogant, but I just think, 'How dare you assume I should think less of myself? The problem isn't me thinking I can achieve any goal I set for myself, the problem is you projecting your own self doubt onto me.'" She believes there is nothing wrong with being confident in who you are, and we couldn't agree more.
She wants to change the portrayal of beauty in the media
The UFC fighter said that she used to attribute the ‘ideal look’ to that of a Maxim cover girl, but then she realized that she didn’t have to see things this way. “In the end, instead of making my body resemble one of those chicks, I decided to try to change the idea of what a Maxim chick could look like.” It worked—Rousey covered the mag in September 2013.
She doesn't believe in one "cookie-cutter" body type
"I hope that the impression that everyone [who] sees the next Sports Illustrated issue is that strong and healthy is the new sexy," Rousey said in an interview at her photoshoot for the 2015 swimsuit issue. She believes that the standard for women's bodies is headed in a healthy and realistic direction.
