“Women with real bodies and regular jobs are still winning in life – don’t let social media fool you.” Loren Burton shares the importance of embracing yourself and teaching your kids to do the same.
At the time Loren Burton entered the modelling industry, it is fair to say diversity was lacking. In fact, ‘diversity back then just wasn’t a thing’, she says. Being told to drop a few pounds didn’t stop Loren from embracing herself, loving the skin she is in and encouraging all women to do the same.
“I was told I was too curvy in my pre-baby, size 8 body”.
“I never saw myself represented on TV or in magazines and it isn’t until you’re an adult that you realise you kind of feel invisible”. So now she posts her real and raw self, so that little girls around the world can see themselves. Rather than molding herself into what society told her she should be, Loren allowed her authenticity to lead the way, becoming a mental health practitioner, a business owner, a model and most importantly of all, a mother.
Loren launched Self Love School which is a project that is about “getting women together to talk about what holds us back on our self love journey”. Not only is Loren empowering women to love themselves, she also radiates this in her household.
“I try to empower my boys to love the skin they’re in and love, not only their differences, but to also be very tolerant of other people’s differences”.
When it comes to motherhood, just getting through the day can be ALOT, but in this episode, Loren tells us how she manages to educate her boys on self acceptance, empathy and vulnerability. She says that “we all have a responsibility as parents to raise conscious and kind kids”. And boy has she taken this responsibility head on in so many ways. One of which was sending her boys to a multicultural school so that they could experience other cultures and an understanding that everyone is different and equal.
Unravelling the concept of toxic masculinity, Loren explained how she goes about raising boys that feel safe to express their emotions. She says she often lets her boys know “that it’s okay not to feel happy all the time” and “it’s okay to feel your emotions and you don’t have to push them down”.
A breath of fresh air, Loren gave us so many insights and takeaways in this episode. She says “the journey of getting to know herself and love herself, especially since having kids is life changing” and we know that you’ll love this episode as much as we loved recording it!
Listen to our podcast with Loren on Spotify or below
Image credit – Haze Alieu
