Living Abroad Changed the Way I See Women’s Bodies

Living abroad has changed the way I see my own body more than I expected.

Of course, moving overseas didn't magically erase every insecurity I had.
Unfortunately, there is no immigration stamp for that.

But spending more time outside Japan made me question something:
“Did I actually choose my definition of a beautiful body — or did I simply grow up surrounded by it?”

The world wasn't competing to be as small as possible

Growing up, being thin felt incredibly important.

Slim legs.
A lower number on the scale.
Smaller clothing sizes.

No one necessarily told me these things every day.
But when “You lost weight!” is commonly used as a compliment, those ideas can quietly become part of the way you judge yourself.

Living abroad exposed me to many different bodies.

Muscular bodies.
Curvier bodies.
Strong thighs.
Larger glutes.

Women confidently wearing bikinis and fitted clothes without waiting to become smaller first.

And at some point I thought:
“Wait. Who actually said you had to be thin to wear this?”

The rest of the world wasn't having the skinny competition I thought it was.

I started noticing how women enjoyed their bodies

What caught my attention wasn't simply body size.
It was how people lived in their bodies.

Wearing fitted clothes.
Going to the beach.
Dancing.
Enjoying fashion.

Of course, body insecurity exists everywhere.
Diet culture exists outside Japan too.

I'm not saying everyone abroad loves their body and everyone in Japan doesn't.
Reality is much more complicated than that.

But seeing different bodies gave me more definitions of beauty.

A slim body can be beautiful.
A muscular body can be beautiful.
A curvy body can be beautiful.

And once I saw more possibilities, I could finally ask:
“What do I actually like?”

Sometimes we borrow other people's eyes

I used to think things like:
“What will people think if I wear this?”
“Can I really wear a bikini with this body?”

But I've realized something.

Sometimes we're not actually being judged by other people.
We're borrowing other people's eyes to judge ourselves.

Before anyone says anything, we create the rule ourselves:

I'm too old for this.
My body isn't right for this.
I'll wear it after I lose weight.

Then you travel somewhere else and discover that the rule doesn't even exist there.

Which makes you wonder:
Who made this rule in the first place?

Seeing more ways to live gave me more choices

I don't believe everything about another culture is automatically better.
Living abroad has actually made me appreciate many things about Japan even more.

But it has taught me not to assume that one way is the only correct way.

Not only with bodies.

Age.
Career.
Relationships.
Being a woman.
Success.
Happiness.

There are so many ways to live.
And bodies are no different.

When you see more possibilities, you can finally choose:
“This is what I like.”

That feels like freedom to me.

Bringing the definition of beauty back to myself

I weigh more today than I did in the past.
But I enjoy my body more.

I wear fitted clothes.
I wear bikinis.
I show my stomach.
Quite regularly, actually.

Not because I've finally achieved a body that everyone in the world would call perfect.
That day probably isn't coming.

It's because I've slowly learned to bring the judgment back to myself.

Travel and living abroad helped me see that many of the things I believed were “normal” were simply one perspective.

And when your old assumptions start to move, something opens up.
You get space to decide what feels right for you.

With my body.
And with my life.