USA rugby powerhouse and social media star Ilona Maher has given the internet an iconic way to react to criticism, once again.
The 28-year-old recently modelled in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway, held during Miami Swim Week.
Maher really nailed the brief of ‘dress to impress’.
While my side of the Internet was loving it, some really took it as a prompt to attack Illona's body type.
A user on X posted a picture featuring one of Maher’s swimsuit photos, with the caption: ‘People are debating online if this body is considered overweight or not. What do you think?’
At the time of writing, the post has 21M views, 16k comments, 2.4k shares, 35k likes and 9.8k saves.
Maher caught wind of the post, and decided to use it as an opportunity to discuss body image with her 5 million followers.
Her video was captioned “sorry I’m so thicc and juicy”, and opened with her saying “I think one of the bravest things we can do is learn to love ourselves, learn to appreciate ourselves and learn to find the beauty in our bodies”.
She was surprised by the fact that “20m people are viewing my body and debating over it”.
Her willingness to be nothing but herself since the beginning of her career has turned her into a role model, and she's never one to shy away from sharing a powerful message.
“Ladies, it doesn’t matter what you do, you will be judged. You will be told you’re too thin, you’re too thick, you’re too much, you’re too this, you’re too that," she said.
The 28-year-old had no shame in admitting that she happens “to be juicy… and thick”, and most importantly, just like most of us, she finds “a lot of joy in food".
"I happen to have a body not meant to be a size two,” she added.
People came to her rescue in the ‘X’ comments, defending her with comments like "She’s an Olympian".
While Maher appreciates it, she made a valid point in response: “It doesn’t matter if you are an Olympian or if you’re not, my body type is beautiful, is worthy.”
Yes, it’s bigger than what is considered beautiful to society, but there is beauty in it.
Despite her insight and confidence, Maher admitted she still gets “insecure a lot”.
She said often gets insecure about her stomach and boob size, but she reminds herself “this is the body I was given and it has done amazing things for me”.
Now, that is a masterclass in body positivity, and one that people in the comments thoroughly enjoyed.
“Thank GOD my teenage daughters have a role model like you!” said one Instagram user.
“Thank you for always speaking out,” said another.
Another comment kept it real: “I genuinely don’t think a lot of people know what muscle looks like on a body that isn’t striving for maximum leanness… If I had a daughter, you would be the woman I’d want her to follow.”
Last, but certainly not least, possibly the truest comment of all: “You have the body of a goddess, please never forget that.”
Ilona Maher, never stop being you, because the world needs it.
