Demi Lovato shows off her cellulite & inspires us to love our bodies

Here she is proudly owning her body. Look at this picture and ask yourself if Demi's cellulite takes away from her talent, her strength, her resilience, or any of the things that make her beautiful from the inside out. We want you to ask yourself this because we know the answer is NO.

Now, the next time that you find yourself criticizing your own body because of other people's beauty standards, we want you to ask yourself the same questions and know that your worth and beauty–just like Demi's–cannot be measured by BS beauty standards.

Read the caption that Demi wrote to go with her unedited bikini pic. Read it as many times as it takes for it to sink in and help you appreciate your body in all its unedited glory:

"This is my biggest fear. A photo of me in a bikini unedited. And guess what, it’s CELLULIT!!!! I’m just literally sooooo tired of being ashamed of my body, editing it (yes the other bikini pics were edited – and I hate that I did that but it’s the truth) so that others think I’m THEIR idea of what beautiful is, but it’s just not me. This is what I got. I want this new chapter in my life to be about being authentic to who I am rather than trying to meet someone else’s standards. So here’s me, unashamed, unafraid and proud to own a body that has fought through so much and will continue to amaze me when I hopefully give birth one day. It’s such a great feeling to be back in tv/film while not stressing myself with a strenuous workout schedule before 14 hour days, or depriving myself from a real birthday cake rather than opting for watermelon & whip cream with candles because I was terrified of REAL cake and was miserable on some crazy diet [expletive]. Anyway, here’s me, RAW, REAL! And I love me. And you should love you too! Now back to the studio.. I’m working on an anthem.. ‍♀️ also. Just so everyone’s clear.. I’m not stoked on my appearance BUT I am appreciative of it and sometimes that’s the best I can do. I hope to inspire someone to appreciate their body today too  #nationalcelulliteday #celluLIT  "

Here's one of the edited photos that Demi mentioned. It's Demi in the same bikini, and her thighs look cellulite-free. There is no denying that Demi looks beautiful in this picture, but would she look any less beautiful with a few dimples on her thighs?

If you answered "yes" to that question, you need to ask yourself why you feel that way, especially when cellulite isn't actually a flaw. In fact, cellulite is present in "80-90% of post-pubertal women," which just proves that it's normal.

Here's another picture of Demi in the same leopard-print bikini. It also appears to edit out her cellulite. Again, Demi looks beautiful, but the most beautiful part of this post is the caption, which reads:

"Idk what to caption this.. reality is I’m sitting at the gym post jiu jitsu feeling high on life and drinking my post workout shake. I’m sweaty and not looking this glamorous right now but [expletive] I feel awesome and posting this feels empowering because I like this pic where I feel sexy and I can also defend myself from anyone that ever tries to attack me. Any size, any shape, any gender. I have security but in the moments I’m alone I feel confident (no pun intended) that I can hold my own against an attacker and hope everyone finds something they become as passionate about as I feel about jiu jitsu. #BJJ #BlueBelt#HowDidThisEndUpBeingAboutBJJ  "

Our bodies are phenomenal and capable of so much; that's what we should focus on instead of inane cosmetic concerns that are raking in money for companies preying on our insecurities, which they have a vested interest in maintaining. They tell us we're ugly, we believe them, and then they offer us a cure to our supposed ugliness in exchange for our money.

What happens when you stop hiding and face your fears is that you no longer have anything to hide and you no longer have to be afraid. Well done, Demi! We want to be like you when we grow up.