Chl?e Bailey on her ‘complicated’ journey to self-love: ‘I was a little ashamed of my curves. I tried to hide them’

Haters be warned: Chl?e Bailey's curve-embracing body positivity is here to stay.

In a recent interview with Allure, the "Have Mercy" singer talked about her journey to self-acceptance and the role models who taught her to love her shape.

While curvaceous bodies have recently risen to social prominence, Bailey remembers a time when they were not always acceptable.

"It's complicated. I've always had thick thighs and a butt. But I was growing up at a time when, if someone on television told you that you had a big butt, they meant it as an insult. So I was a little ashamed of my curves."

But now, the 23-year-old is embracing all that comes with having a "full figure."

"I tried to hide them. It took a very, very long time. Now my favorite thing about [my body] is my butt."

Bailey also found figure inspiration in famously statuesque women, including her "Bootylicious" mentor.

"The first woman I saw embrace her body was Beyoncé," Bailey says. "Hearing her sing 'Bootylicious' or seeing her perform on the BET [awards] made me feel calm about my body. Also Jill Scott. She showed me another beautiful, full-figured, thick, sexy, curvaceous [woman]. And I was like, that is sexy."

Bailey's newfound confidence was not widely accepted by everyone and she found herself on the receiving end of a lot of social media scrutiny.

In an interview with Taraji P. Henson on her Facebook Watch show Peace of Mind, the multi-hyphenate opened up about tuning out the noise and realizing she was well within her rights to share her newfound self-love with the public. "I'm not doing anything crazy. I'm just appreciating and loving myself and my body. And I didn't think there was any problem with that," she said.

While her self-love is at an all-time high, she still finds it necessary to share her vulnerabilities as well as her triumph.

"We're not all supposed to be perfect, like bad b**** and confident all the time. We have different layers, ebbs and flows to our lives. It would be completely unfair for me to portray myself to the world like I have no problems. Because I do," she told Allure.

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