Culion actress Iza Calzado shared her journey to her advocacy on women's body positivity and self-love. In her interview on PUSH Bets Live, Iza opened up about how she reached such self-confidence and self-acceptance.
"I think a lot the body-positive influencers or the people I've been following on social media [made me feel like] I wasn't alone. Na parang mayroon din palang mga tao na ganito ang katawan.
"Sila talaga yung—winiwish ko pa nga no'n na sana I have that confidence. Kahit sa mga stretchmarks [or] malalaki sila. I wish even when I was big, I had that parang ‘be okay with myself,’ na I'm okay as I am," said the actress who admitted to be still struggling with body and image issues.
READ: Iza Calzado showcases self-love by posting unedited photo
During the same interview, Iza also shared her personal reasons for doing such efforts and how she eventually became one of the founders of a women’s organization, She Talks Asia.
"My realization was, parang I'm not using my platform the way I supposed to use it... There was certain emptiness. And I could understand na I'm not doing enough for other people, I'm doing so much for myself," Iza said.
When asked about a message for the young girls on social media, she said, "It's tough. These filters can make you look good, but at the end of the day you go home you look at yourself in the mirror and always have to stare back at who you are.
"You have to live with who you really are. It's fun, these apps are fun, and use them as a fun tool."
Watch the interview here:
Iza Calzado is one of the lead stars of the new Metro Manila Film Fest movie entry, Culion. Written by Ricky Lee, and directed by Alvin Yapan, Culion will start screening on Christmas Day.