Taylor Swift's Most Candid Confessions About Struggling With Body Image

We'd like to think having money solves all of life's problems, but that's far from the truth. Especially when it comes to body image struggles. It doesn't matter how much or how little money you have, body image struggles never discriminate. It's something people just can't seem to escape, even Taylor Swift.

In her 2020 documentary, "Miss Americana," the world-famous pop star got very candid about her struggles with disordered eating and her "unhealthy" relationship with food. In the documentary, she's in the car and the pop star opens up about the struggles of having to see photos of herself every single day. She then goes into explaining her tendencies when she sees these photos, emphasizing they have only "happened a few times" and that she is in no way "proud of [them]." Even worse, she explained she would come across people's comments suggesting she "looked pregnant," and they would easily trigger her to just "starve a bit" and "just stop eating." Soon after, she goes into detail about the consequences of these choices to starve and how she thought she was "supposed to feel like [she] was going to pass out at the end of a show or in the middle of it."

In the segment, she also shares the revelations she's made throughout her journey with her body struggles have helped her realize how much happier she is as a "size six instead of a double zero." She weighs in on unrealistic beauty standards as well as mentioning that, "There's always some standard of beauty that you're not meeting...It's all just f***ing impossible."

Throughout her Eras tour, fans noticed Taylor Swift looking healthier than ever. But it doesn't seem like it came easy. In a 2019 interview with Elle, Swift admitted she "worked hard to retrain [her] brain that a little extra weight means curves, shinier hair, and more energy...There is no quick fix. I work on accepting my body every day. " This is something she also sheds light on in "Miss Americana," which was released in 2020. It's hard to escape thoughts your brain was trained for so long to think, and Swift most likely still struggles each day to accept and embrace herself for who she is, but it's good to know she's trying every day.

Swift also seems like she has long been aware of the influence she yields on her fans and tries to set a positive example in so many different aspects not limited to music. And, while she may be the number one role model to her fans, Swift seems to have one of her very own. In a 2020 interview with Variety, she admitted she loves Jameela Jamil for the way "she speaks about body image...Women are held to such a ridiculous standard of beauty, and we're seeing so much on social media that makes us feel like we're less than...that you kind of need a mantra to repeat in your head when you start to have unhealthy thoughts." Swift said the things Jamil says are those mantras in her head for her as she can calm herself down. See, at the end of the day, whoever you are, we're all only human.

These days, it's hard to feel like you're ever good enough. With individuals feeling inferior and constantly comparing themselves to the person on their screen, it's obvious social media has the tendency to make people sad. And, most times, celebrities aren't really helping. With the Kardashian-Jenner clan constantly being accused of creating toxic and unrealistic beauty standards that they can't even keep up with, the younger generation is struggling. A survey from the Dove Self-Esteem Project shared 56% of girls felt like it is nearly impossible to meet the beauty standards social media influentially sets.

Luckily for Swifties, whether it's through music or speaking candidly on the subject, Taylor seems to prioritize spreading body positivity. And it seems like it has helped fans tremendously with their very own struggles. In 2020, many fans expressed their gratitude for her speaking up about her own struggles as they felt a "connection with how she spoke" on the subject in her documentary. In 2022, she released "You're on Your Own Kid," in which she sings, "I hosted parties and starved my body like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss" — a lyric that had her fans relating to her more than ever.

A study from the University of Vermont have even found that fans who deeply connected to the artist were "influenced positively to change their behaviors or attitudes around eating or their body image because of Swift's disclosures and messages in her music," according to Associate Professor Lizzy Pope of the university's Nutrition and Food Sciences Department. That's some pretty amazing influential stuff and it's probably one of the greatest gifts the pop sensation can give her fans.