Body Positivity Influencer Sydney Bell Says, "Baby Got Back Dimples." And She's Proud.

When scrolling Curve Influencer Sydney Bell's Instagram page, there's never a doubt in my mind that her confidence is anything less than authentic. She is free. She is comfortable in her own skin. And BABY, she is a big girl! All over her Instagram, Bell flaunts her bikini body and embraces her natural curves without fear of judgment - she defines her own beauty standards and wants to encourage other women to do the same. So, here's what I dug up about the plus-size beauty and why she became an influencer.

Texas native Bell, participating in both company dance and cheer from a young age, was actually bullied and felt ostracized due to a "lack of representation." She was one of the only girls around with a dark skin-tone, curvy hips and thick hair texture - she grew up in a predominately white community.

"There were times when I was bullied at basketball and football games and called out in front of the entire student body. What I did was channel that hate that people had towards me and use it as fuel to kind of … show the world that us curvy girls can rock it,” she said.

Bell spent the entire grade school years feeling badly about herself. However, it wasn't until high school when things began to change. She reported to Essence that she quickly learned about her worth because her parents showed her how to be strong through all the hate.

“Whenever it would come to being out in public or being in social settings or especially being a plus-size cheerleader in high school, when the bullies would say things about me, it really didn’t have an effect on me because I already knew who I was. With confidence, I feel it’s a life-long journey, and it’s a journey that’s something that you’re going to have to work on. But when you have it, there’s nothing anybody can tell you.”

Bell has already left her mark in a short period of time. She continues to reach out to women, spreading a message of self-love all over her Instagram page. She often dresses with bikinis and clothing that showcase her body while posting quotes like, "I will not compare my body to a stranger on Instagram." Many of her posts advocate against body shaming and against the negative influence of beauty standards on body image.

She has a post on her Instagram, side by side with Kim Kardashian in a bikini. On top of the picture, she wrote, "Two Women, Different Bodies, Both Worthy."

She was recently interviewed on Good Morning America to discuss her views and will soon be in a new Prime series by Pop Singer Lizzo, Watch Out For The Big Grrrls. The series aims to change the narratives surrounding plus-sized women and empower them.

“I really hope this documentary shows viewers that big girls have it all," Bell said. "We are beautiful. We are strong. I really hope that younger viewers watching this, even the generations to come that see this, understand that this is normal.”

Sydney Bell (front left) and the rest of the cast of Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Image Courtesy of Amazon Prime)

The show will be an eight-episode series with a storyline of 10 dancers auditioning for a spot in Lizzo’s group of touring backup dancers. The show will showcase plus-sized dancers and discuss themes of representation, self-love and beauty standards in dance.

Bell has already made a change by sharing her story to help women who look like her understand that all body sizes are beautiful - :"Every body is a bikini body," she said.

“I just want to tell people to live their lives fully,” she says. “We have one body, we have one life, and if you think about it, the things and the insecurities that you’re worried about now are not going to matter. The things that you’re stressed out and thinking, ‘oh I don’t want to wear a bikini to the pool because somebody is going to say something.’ It doesn’t matter, because when you’re 60, 70, 80 years old, they’re not going to even remember you. So live fully and don’t have any limitations.”