Infamous mom of 19 kids Michelle Duggar has enumerated the many ways that she has learned to love her body even after having been perpetually pregnant for two decades. A positive body image is great and all, but some of her reasons just read like she’s cycling through the Kübler-Ross model of grief.
Also, not to be a pervert or whatever, but I was kind of hoping that Michelle would talk about her vagina at some point in this list. That’s basically the first thing that people think of when they recoil in horror at the idea of giving birth 19 times. Talking about embracing bodily changes that go beyond just “baby weight”—expanded rib cage, sagging boobs, roomier vagina—could’ve been really powerful. Instead, we got 19 different ways to talk about God. But what else could we really expect from someone who thinks that the body should be hidden at all times beneath layers of cheap knits?
1. God. Like pop artists accepting music awards, Michelle would first like to acknowledge Jesus as “the center of [her] universe.”
2. Her kids. Michelle doesn’t want her kids hearing her bum out about her weight, which is kind of nice, so she “sets the tone” about body image.
3. God. This one is actually about God, too. “Truly, my Lord is the one I want to please,” she said.
4. God. She considers her stretch marks as “marks of glory” from her “blessings from God.”
5. Not giving a shit. “We are hard on ourselves,” she says. “We believe lies. We’re constantly bombarded with ‘oh, you’re so fat’—those are lies.”
6. Jim Bob. It’s hard to not feel sexy when someone is constantly trying to impregnate you.
7. God. “It’s all about being who God wants YOU to be.”
8. Not giving a shit. Michelle says she tries “not to beat herself up, whether the slip-up is a forgotten appointment or a few extra pounds.”
9. Weight Watchers. She lost 40 lbs.
10. Family. They go out walking for an hour after dinner together.
11. God. “I praise God for the life I’ve had so far, the health I’ve had; I don’t take that for granted,” she says.
12. Friends. She texts uplifting messages for “accountability” and motivation.
13. Not giving a shit. “Hairstyle/clothes/makeup of the moment? Not for Michelle.”
14. No bikini body stress. She has to wear layers of long clothing if she wants to go swimming, so no one sees her body anyway.
15. God. “The whole view of who I am is not about that physical body.”
16. Not giving a shit. She says there are things in life that you can’t change and should just accept.
17. God. “We humble ourselves before God and pray about it.”
18. She’s open to having more children. Could also file under “I give up.”
19. God. Again. “One of the things that we have talked a lot about in our relationship and with our kids is the self-image that we have, looking at life from God’s point of view,” she says. “It’s about accepting yourself how God made you.”