Jelena Dockic’s powerful message about body image

Jelena Dokic has shared a powerful message about body image after years of comments about her changing size.
The Australian tennis star and media commentator posted before and after photos on Instagram.
“9 months ago,” she wrote of the image on the left. “NOW THE SAME PERSON REGARDLESS OF MY SIZE, she wrote of the image on the right.
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“Whether 30 kilos more on the left 10 months ago or now. Proud of myself in exactly the same way,” she said.
“Because my size and number on the scale doesn’t define me.
“My kindness, hard work, humility, loyalty, good heart, resilience, strength in face adversity and fighting spirit does. And that’s what really matters.”
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“Nobody at your funeral will ever talk about your size,” Dokic continued.
“They will talk about who you were as a person. So make sure they can say what an amazing and kind person you were. And that’s what it’s about. Legacy of kindness and being a good person.
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“And if you do it at a size 20 or a size 2, it really doesn’t matter. But don’t ever judge anyone and don’t ever base your opinion on others based on their size.
“Because then you are just not a good person and it’s not kind.”
“So if you can be anything, be kind,” Dokic urged her followers.
“That’s why I am not ashamed to show the picture on the left. Because it doesn’t matter what size I am as long as I am a good person.”
She ended her post by saying: “I will hold my head up high whether I am a size 2 or size 20 and nobody will shame me into feeling bad about myself and who I am especially nobody that sits behind a keyboard or phone and takes time out of their life to write something negative to someone else especially someone that you don’t even know.
“And the same goes if you see me or anyone else in person and you judge us and base your opinion of us based on our size,” she said. “That’s just terrible. And what you think of me and others based on size says everything about you. Full stop.”
Dokic, 41, has been the target of vicious online tolls for the past several over her changing body size and become a vocal advocate for body positivity.
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The tennis great has lent her voice to the cause, questioning society’s beauty standards and sharing her own health journey.
Dokic works at Nine Entertainment as a media commentator, most recently for the US Open.
She is also the author of two books – Fearless and Unbreakable – in which she chronicles her painful childhood and tennis career as well as the breakdown of her 19-year relationship, resulting mental health battle and ongoing health journey.
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