Amy Schumer Opens Up About Her Body Image Issues

I think we can pretty much all agree at this point that Amy Schumer is a modern day feminist hero. She's whip smart, hilariously funny, and not afraid to "go there" when it comes to the most uncomfortable topics of conversation. In other words, she's amazing and almost seems superhuman in her ability to be absolutely brilliant at what she does while shunning society's ideals about what a celebrity — and in particular, what a female celebrity — should be like. But in a sobering reminder that she is indeed a human being just like the rest of us, Schumer broke down on Friday's TODAY show over her struggle with body image.

In a segment discussing her new style fund organization with Goodwill of Southern California, which aims to inspire women and improve their self-confidence through fashion, Schumer became teary-eyed as she recounted her life-long difficulties with knowing how to dress for her body type and feeling good in her own skin — a struggle more than a few of us will relate to, I'm sure. And while she's worked hard to overcome her lack of confidence (helped largely by Trainwreck stylist Leesa Evans), Schumer hopes she can help other women get a similar boost in their day-to-day-lives.

It’s an emotional thing. It’s been a struggle for me my whole life, and especially just being in the entertainment industry. Standing on a stage in front of people, I can’t perform my best or be confident if I’m not sure — if I’m pulling at something [I’m wearing]. And sometimes, I would just want to throw in the towel and be like, 'I’m not gonna go do stand-up tonight.'"

Schumer's initiative to help other women feel better about themselves is an incredibly important one, especially coming from someone in the Hollywood circle, who sees day in, day out how impossible the standard of perfection for women actually is. While regular women like you and I are held to the standards of the women in the magazines, so are the women in the magazines, and that's an incredibly scary thought. And while trying to live up to an impossible ideal of perfection may be easy to brush off, that's only possible if you feel good about yourself otherwise, and that in and of itself can be really hard.

I think we all know what it's like to hate what we see in the mirror, whether that's just because we're having a bad day or because we struggle with chronic body image issues on a daily basis. It's a terrible thing to have to deal with and hopefully it's something we can start to change by changing the messages sent to women on how we should look, act, dress, and be. For now, we owe it to ourselves to be kind to ourselves and feel good in any way we can. Sometimes that means just wearing our favorite outfit, or putting on a new lipstick. Maybe it's a new haircut or your favorite earrings. Whatever makes you feel good, do it. That's the message Schumer is sending, and it's one we all should be listening to.