Rumer Willis has made it no secret that her journey towards self-acceptance and body positivity has had its challenges, and she’s opening up again, this time chatting about embracing her body fluctuations during quarantine, the importance of self-love, and why she wants to encourage young women to embrace their bodies too.
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The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star stunned in a photoshoot for Cuup as she talked about those things, wearing only a yellow Cuup Balconette bra and yellow high-waist panties as she lounged on her bed with her pup Dolores. Rumer gave a glimpse of her bedroom in the background, which is covered in framed photos, including one of her as a baby cozying up to her mom Demi Moore.
© @rumerwillisRumer stuns in a photoshoot for Cuup
"Thank you to the lovely ladies at @cuup for capturing me and my sweet Dolores," Rumer captioned the photo on Instagram. "And for a great conversation about self-love, appreciating my curls, how to help the younger generation to learn to accept and celebrate your body in all its many forms."
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In the post, Rumer talked about the importance of the support her sisters, Tallulah and Scout Willis, have given her, and how they’ve tried to pass along nuggets of body positivity to their two youngest sisters, Evelyn, 6, and Mabel, 8.
© @rumerwillisRumer poses with her sisters Tallulah and Scout Willis
"We may be related, but we all look so different and have such varied body shapes," Rumer told the site. "We have all compared ourselves to one another at some point, as sisters do, but we try to see these differences as a reminder to celebrate our own uniqueness. We especially try to instill early and lasting messages of self-love in the two youngest. It’s amazing how much self-acceptance we have as children before all those outside standards seep in."
Those messages of self-love are something Rumer learned how to cultivate herself as she was thrust into the spotlight and was criticized for her appearance.
"There is all of this shame attached to becoming a woman, but, at the same time, there is so much emphasis on quickly mastering beauty and sensuality," Rumer said. "Suddenly, there are all these checkboxes: your face, your teeth, your butt, your boobs. If you are desirable within these checkboxes, if boys like you for these things, then you are valuable."
© @rumerwillisRumer opened up to Cuup about her journey to self-love
"I never felt like I fit into any of those boxes," she continued. "I struggled. People made fun of the way I looked. I always felt like an outsider and got very used to the self-hatred that came with that. When blogs were first starting, I was sixteen years old and experienced a lot of bullying. These blogs would say I was ugly or looked like a man. Then, I did two photoshoots where my photos were face-tuned. It completely crushed me."
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Because of situations like that, the actress had to work hard to shut out those criticisms and find the beauty in herself, and it didn’t happen overnight. "Negative self-talk doesn’t disappear because you aren’t paying attention to it for a moment," Rumer added.
"You have to really dig deep into the root of that misidentification around your body. Dismantling these things is slow, difficult work. It’s a process you have to show up for every day."
© @rumerwillisRumer cozies up with her pup in a Cuup balconette bra and high waist panties
The journey towards self-acceptance and self-love can be a process. As for what Rumer is doing now on that quest, she said, "I’m learning to not be resistant to everything that’s coming up during this pause. I’m learning to love myself and accept my body’s fluctuations."
"I’m learning to embrace vulnerability and engage in dialogue around inclusivity and acceptance with other women," she continued. "These shared experiences – of self-judgment, self-love, and everything in between – really connect us as women. Let’s make sure it’s a positive connection."
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