Everyone has their insecurities. For some, it may be their nose, their butt or their thighs. For me it’s my stretch marks. While they don’t glow a stinging red like they use to, they still linger, little ghost-like scars that, when seen in the right lighting, look as if I have been clawed repeatedly by some tiny evil being. For the longest time, I have just accepted that the rest of the world and I will always have little things we don’t like about our bodies. I always liked that, secretly, no one could be completely confident in themselves: it was my equivalent to imagining everyone in the room in their underwear. Lately, however, my comforting theory about embracing the little things we don’t like about our bodies hasn’t held much water. Our little insecurities have become quite lethal. These little things we don’t like turn into big things we don’t like, ultimately manifesting into serious self-esteem issues. In a society that both demands and expects flawlessness, our smallest flaws are suddenly uglier and more unacceptable than ever.

The flawlessness that our society demands manifests itself in women like Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and that whole crew of Victoria’s Secret models. These are women who, when photographed, exude “perfection”. They have no bumps on their skin. Their arms and legs are always toned. Their stomachs are never bloated and God forbid any stretch marks appear on their bodies in bikini shots. These women are actually praised for looking this way, for lacking all the flaws normal people possess.

But even this “perfection” is criticized. Whenever a paparazzo or a tabloid reveals a single flaw is revealed, these women are skewered for it. If their tummies aren’t flat, they’re probably pregnant. If they’ve gained a few pounds and dare to step out in a bikini, the world ends. And if they forget to cover up their stretch marks, their acne, or the circles under their eyes, they quickly slip from “beautiful” to “Has she hit rock bottom?”

Recently, however, there’s been backlash regarding this idea of “flawlessness” and the criticism of it. A few months ago, Chrissy Teigen proudly bared the stretch marks on her inner thighs to her 1.9 million followers and the world exploded. First, someone like Teigen had stretch marks? And secondly, she was okay them? It was revolutionary because a woman who is praised for her flawlessness not only has flaws and is okay with them, but is also not embarrassed to show them.

Other female celebrities have followed in Teigen’s footsteps by showing and advocating for their flaws on their Instagram pages. In March, Jamie King celebrated her pregnant body and in April, after receiving serious backlash to her supposed weight gain, pop star Selena Gomez posted a candid bikini shot declaring that she was happy that there was more of her to love.

This is a breath of fresh air. To see women who have been placed on a pedestal and have become unrealistic standards of beauty admit that they are not perfect after all and do not hate their imperfections is amazing. It’s an excellent message to spread: nobody is perfect, and realizing that your flaws don’t make you ugly. At the end of the day you should either embrace them or forget them and learn to love how beautiful and unique you are.

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Email Lena Rawley at [email protected].