Pakistani Artist Shines A Light On This Super-Taboo Body Issue

Emerging Pakistani artist Sara Shakeel has made it her mission to beautify this blemish shared by women across the globe, and the result is breathtaking.

Ladies and gents, we are talking about stretch marks. Love ’em or hate ’em, they are a part of life and they are finally being celebrated through art thanks to Sara and her bold creative experiment.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba7TRDjBTUc/?hl=en&taken-by=sarashakeel

By medical definition, stretch marks are ‘narrow streaks or lines that occur on the surface of the skin.’ Tending to occur during pregnancy, or from general growth spurts that happen throughout puberty, they are ‘often red or purple to start with before gradually fading to a silvery-white colour.’

In other words, they are completely natural and practically unavoidable for women. Yet traditional beauty standards tell us we need to get rid of them pronto.

Sara decided to challenge this ridiculousness by using sparkling, flamboyant glitter to enhance photographs of her own stretched skin before unabashedly sharing her empowering artwork on Instagram for all to see.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba-EssthahY/?taken-by=sarashakeel

In this way, the artist took a body issue we often prefer to hide and showed us that the marks can actually be beautiful and entrancing.

In an October 31 Instagram post, Sara shared her courageous message with the world: ‘…I have seen my stretch marks grow from the day I started putting on weight, I’d be honest even before uploading it I was thinking why would anyone be interested in my concept of stretch marks turned into glitter or crystals!!! My god I was so wrong!’

And wrong she was! After posting her own blinged-out marks, Sara’s followers from around the world began sending her photos of their own stretchies to bedazzle, and #glitterstretchmarks officially became a thing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BazJt8ihybH/?taken-by=sarashakeel

It is amazing to see a young artist taking on such a major female issue as body image and attacking it head on in this unique and beautiful way. Go, Sara, go!

Culture Trips launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes places and communities so special.

Our immersive trips, led by Local Insiders, are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and an invitation to travel the world with like-minded explorers. Our Travel Experts are on hand to help you make perfect memories. All our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.?>

All our travel guides are curated by the Culture Trip team working in tandem with local experts. From unique experiences to essential tips on how to make the most of your future travels, we’ve got you covered.