Trigger Warning: eating disorders, bulimia, etc.Miss C has the features and body that young women on Instagram and other social media platforms, quite literally, die for. But it doesn't come easy and it definitely comes with a price....and that price is her freedom. Miss C has given me permission to share the story of her eating disorder with you, in hopes that it will inspire OTHER young women to face these issues and take them seriously. I am doing my due diligence to learn more about eating disorders and why they happen, how we can combat them, etc. and the research I have found implies that more than 80% of documented cases of eating disorders are genetic, usually following closely to depression, anxiety, and OCD. What does this mean? It means eating disorders are usually the result of a cocktail of brain chemicals and environmental factors and every case is different enough for there to be no "one answer" to fixing the issue.
So, where does Miss C fit in to all of this, aside from just "having" an eating disorder? Well, she came to me in response to one of my casting calls and told me about her progress in her recovery program. I was hesitant to put up images of her on my social media (not just because it would get me banned from Facebook) but because I know the internet is a crappy place and people would say some extremely demeaning things about her petite body. So, before anyone comments on the fact that she "needs to eat a sandwich" or "put some meat on those bones" or implies that "men like women with curves, not bones" please note that you have NO FUCKING CLUE about someone's journey. For Miss C. she has made great strides from where she was a few short months ago and has not only started making gains to get to a healthier weight for her frame, but is also battling with the mental game that eating disorders provide EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
For me, it is extremely important that I represent women of ALL shapes and sizes and journeys because ALL women deserve to feel good about themselves at whatever point they are in their journey and I am very happy to have met Miss C because she can shed some light onto a different part of body image that I have no experience with and hopefully her own journey to self love will help change even one girl's life.
Now, my reason for sharing Miss C's story is not so that you will take pity on her or say "awwww, poor girl" but rather, so you will think twice before wanting to achieve a particular "body type" which is deemed perfect by stupid social media challenges and society and also, so you will think before commenting on a woman's body that she is "too much" of this or "not enough" of that. 
So, even though the casting call for Miss C's session was supposed to be an inspiration session, it ended up being more of an empowerment session. Boudoir sessions for Miss C are a good way for her to express herself and get in touch with her body at whatever stage in her journey she is at. Photos are a fab way to document her life changes and see the progress that she is making, because sometimes it may seem slower than she would like. In any case, Miss C is one hell of a young woman and she is extremely bright, beautiful, strong and full of spark and I will continue to walk beside her in her journey to understand her self. {Ps. scroll down to the bottom to watch our behind the scenes video from this shoot!}
Here is what Miss C'story and experience with boudoir:"During my session I felt on top of the world I felt like the sexiest women alive. Teri made me feel so comfortable with showing off my body that I worked hard for. My fear of seeing my photos was not even that my body was going to look bad, it was that I would have weird facial expressions and be unhappy but when I saw my photos I felt beautiful. I felt perfect I wanted to show them off to everyone. I've been bulimic for half a year and my confidence is at an all time low. There are days when I feel beautiful and confident in the skin I'm in but other days when I want to lay in bed all day and not look at myself. I needed a confidence boost and I knew that Teri always gave me the best ones. And I was right. She made me beautiful and confident just like she did the first time and whenever I'm feeling insecure I look back on those photos she took of me and just smile. Thank you for all your help, Teri!"
