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How the woman behind the #saggyboobsmatter movement helps us love our bodies and also authored a book we all need to read

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23-year-old British Chidera Eggerue (who goes by the name The Slumflower on social media) explained to Mashable in an interview that she came up with the idea for #SaggyBoobsMatter while reviewing photos of herself taken during the previous night out. She realised that her boobs looked “saggy” in her dress, which had a deep, plunging neckline, but she chose to share one photo regardless because she “looked so happy” in it. 

Alongside the photo she wrote about how society views women’s bodies and particularly larger breasts. She came up with her now-iconic hashtag on a whim.

"Somehow I chose to enter on the caption #SaggyBoobsMatter," Chidera said. "I didn't know at the time that I was starting a movement, I was just expressing that saggy boobs actually matter."

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#SAGGYBOOBSMATTER

A post shared by Chidera Eggerue (@theslumflower) on

She continued to use the hashtag in any post where she wore something that showed off her breasts. For her this was simply another way to express the body positivity which she began to develop in her late teens.

The blogger and social media influencer told The Guardian in an interview in July that she felt deeply insecure about her breasts being “too saggy” throughout her teens and once even thought of getting them surgically augmented to correct what she thought was a problem.

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But when she was around 19, however, she realised that the unrealistically rounded and perky images of breasts that society perpetuates were something that “needed to be challenged”— so she chose to begin going braless.

#SaggyBoobsMatter quickly became something that wasn’t just about Chidera expressing herself, but other inspiring other women to open up about, share their feelings on and embrace their bodies.

These stories taught Chidera that many women view themselves based on what society teaches them about self-love and what’s beautiful instead of being taught that it’s okay to look the way you do and celebrate it. 

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"Women are taught that our value and our ability to be loved is wrapped around how appealing, attractive, and desirable we are. That idea is so flawed. Being worthy of love is nothing to do with what your body looks like. It's literally the least important thing," she told Mashable. "First of all, saggy boobs aren't even represented at all. And secondly, most women have boobs that aren't perky. That means there's a whole conversation that needs to be had about women's bodies, and more importantly how we see our own selves."

Tiddies out for dinner

A post shared by Chidera Eggerue (@theslumflower) on

The best oart of the story? The hashtag and movement behind it also inspired Chidera to write her own book. In What A Time To Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide to Why You Are Already Enough, released this month, the author explores the concept of self-worth and uses wisdom from her Nigerian mother (including Igbo proverbs) to help others understand the importance of self-worth and the concept of “minding your business,” which in her view means attending to self-care in addition to “staying out of gossip.”

“If you know yourself and you know who you are, it’s the most important aspect of self-care,” Chidera said. “That is what guides the way of how I choose to handle certain situations. We could all do with minding our business a bit more.”

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