As two of the biggest female mixed martial arts fighters in the world, Ronda Rousey and Aisling Daly know all too well what itâs like to be body-shamed.
But now, theyâre using their huge social media presence to make a stand.
âAny womanâs body type in the healthiest form is desirable,â says Rousey as part of #PowerShift, an 10-part series by The Huffington Post UK, hosted by Sophie Turner.
Daly adds: âI believe whatever way you feel most comfortable is the best way for you to be.â
Both Rousey and Daly say social media has had an impact on the way they see and present their bodies.
âWeâre constantly under scrutiny,â Daly says.
âWhether itâs good or bad itâs still scrutiny...I donât really want to be responding to âyou look like a man with your big shouldersâ or âyou look hot, I love a girl that could beat me upâ. Thatâs not what that pictureâs about.â
Rousey adds: âItâs really important for me to at least be able to represent my own body type in a desirable light, and thatâs something that I didnât see growing up.
âThe kind of women I saw on the cover of magazines were a fraction of female body types.â
As an actress in HBOâs âGame Of Thronesâ, Turner also says sheâs âdefinitely felt pressuredâ to look a certain way in the past.
âEspecially with the kind of industry Iâm in and the platform on social media, thereâs always comments and thereâs always discussion about aesthetic,â she adds.
âBut at the end of the day I totally agree with Ronda and Aisling, that you just have to have a healthy body and be confident in that.â
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Daly currently has more than 17,000 Twitter followers and 9,000 Instagram followers, while 2.7 million people follow Rousey on Twitter and 8.1 million follow her on Instagram.
Considering these huge figures, as Turner points out, world-class athletes are no longer just sportspeople, but key influencers with the power to inspire change.
Rousey has used her massive audience on social media to create the hashtag #rouseyrevolution, which celebrates amazing, young female fighters.
Girls training can post photos or videos of themselves in action is all their sweaty, red-faced glory.
Sheâs also inadvertently started the DNB movement, which encourages women to not be a âdo nothin bitchâ.
âWomen without ambition are being glorified, and itâs sad, and weâre taking steps backward, and thereâs a lot of women out there that are very frustrated about it, but they had no real term for it,â she says.
âI had no idea I was coining a term in that moment, but I guess, I wasnât the only person with that thought on my mind, and thatâs why it took off.â
As Turner says, Rouseyâs catchphrase âisnât exactly elegantâ, but if itâs encouraging women to be proud of their achievements, rather than worry about their bodies, we think itâs a great place to start.