'Tiger stripes on a Tuesday': mum inspires with stretch mark pictures

Mum and part-time model Talmesha Keonna has had enough of body bashing. 

The 27-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, launched the hashtag 'Tiger Stripes on a Tuesday' in a bid to promote pride in stretch marks. 

And her photos are simply stunning. 

 

#TigerStripesOnATuesday the one day I spend reminding myself (no matter how crazy life gets) that I am enough. That despite the odds that may be against me I'm worth every ounce of love the universe has to offer. This woman I've become I love her more than I ever imagined I would. Going from a depressed girl who hated everything… body, self, and life… to this beautiful Goddess who can see her own light still feels like I'm dreaming. Every Tuesday I reflect because it's way deeper than just #tigerstripes but it's the thing that started my profound self love. I feel like I owe my son so much for stretching my body, creating these lines and wrinkles that keep me humble and loving life. #sapphirerebel #nationalmentalhealthday #bodypositive#selflove#stretchmarks#loveyourlines#nonairbrushedme#momblogger#mom#mombod#womenempowerment

A post shared by Talmesha Keonna (@talmeshak) on Oct 10, 2017 at 7:53am PDT

But, as she told The Daily Mail, she wasn't always this body confident. After giving birth to her son, Chase, now five, she received abuse online for her changed figure: 

"Being pregnant, it changed my body a lot. It resulted in me getting stretch marks, wrinkles and extra skin. The stretch marks are pretty much everywhere now.

It made me very self-conscious. I didn't like to look at myself in the mirror. When I did, I would just cry and sob about it. I would continuously suck my stomach in or like stretch my skin out."

 

Confidence is everything. I love my rebel spirit! #sapphirerebel ………. Happy to announce I'm now a @nonairbrushedme ambassador. Thanks for having me!  #nonairbrushedme

A post shared by Talmesha Keonna (@talmeshak) on Aug 14, 2017 at 1:28pm PDT

One day, she realised that putting herself down over her appearance wasn't constructive: 

"I started to realise they [the stretch marks] weren't going anywhere and constantly bringing myself down about it wasn't positive, it wasn't helping me in any way." 

So that's why she decided to use her modelling experience from her pre-baby days to embrace the tiger stripes: 

"So my hashtag all started out as a photo of me embracing my tiger stripes and it was Tuesday – so I was like tiger stripes on a Tuesday. "

 

Meet Lauren (@lauren_dungey) a beautiful BOPO babe telling her story on how she learned to love herself and all her tiger stripes. Click the link in my bio to read her inspiring story! #tigerstripesonatuesday #sapphirerebel

A post shared by Talmesha Keonna (@talmeshak) on Oct 24, 2017 at 11:30am PDT

So every Tuesday, Keonna posts a different picture of herself or an other mother embracing their post-baby bodies. She said that she was blown away by the support she received from fellow mothers: 

"I'm very proud of what I have achieved so far. I never in a million years thought that I would impact so many people and have this influence over anyone. Especially coming from a low self-esteem place before."

She hopes to play a part in destigmatizing stretch marks and help more women to see themselves as sexy: 

"I absolutely believe that one day everyone will think that stretch marks are a sexy thing, that they're beautiful and it will no longer have a stigma behind it." 

 

Confidence and comfort doesn't get any better than this! New everyday essentials from @meundies #MeUndies #AllDayEveryday #meundiespartner Photographer: @jbentonphotos

A post shared by Talmesha Keonna (@talmeshak) on Nov 2, 2017 at 8:32am PDT

Keonna now says that she wouldn't changer her stretch marks for the world: 

"It would feel wrong to erase such a huge part of myself and it has helped me find who I was." 

We think her photos are absolutely gorgeous!