In the year 2022, realness is a hot commodity that’s not always easy to find. That’s why Danielle Brooks wanted to partner with Aerie, “a brand that is all about self-love and self-acceptance and keeping it real,” the actress tells Shape over the phone. “We live in a society where social media is all about filtering ourselves and not being one hundred with who we are, and I think it’s really taken away the beauty of people, which is that we’re all different,” she says.
Danielle Brooks partners with Aerie
The actress, who you might recognise from her role as Tasha ‘Taystee’ Jefferson in Orange Is the New Black or her Broadway run as Sofia in The Color Purple (a role she’ll be reviving in a new musical movie set to be released in December 2023), is currently promoting Aerie’s We Are REAL Campaign, which launches August 8, and the brand’s new anti-shapewear line, Smoothez, which is available now. She confirms how comfy the new collection is, sharing that she’s wearing a bra and panties from the line during her call with Shape. “That might be TMI,” she says with a laugh.
While there’s no doubt Brooks understands the importance of authenticity, she admits that she’s struggled to embrace her own at times. “I’m human,” she says, adding that everyone has trouble keeping it real occasionally. “I think sometimes we focus too much on what we want to be and what we want to have, but you’re only given one body and I think it’s important to embrace that one body,” she says.
So how does Brooks work toward accepting herself even when it’s difficult? She takes a breath and tries to “recalibrate,” she explains. Sometimes that’s meditating, sometimes that’s working out, and sometimes that’s simply thinking about her two-year-old daughter. “I think about how I want her to live, and I have to be that example for her,” says Brooks. “So, if I’m sitting here beating myself up every day, she sees that, [and] that’s not the example I want for her.”
Although becoming a mom has given Brooks another reason to be kind to herself, it has certainly come with challenges, too, she says. “It’s something that I’ve had to mentally come to grips with: that it’s okay to have changed,” she says of how her body and sense of self have been affected by pregnancy and giving birth. “I created an entire human being, and that should be celebrated, and my body took a beating for that,” she says. “It’s constantly a struggle…but I’m learning to accept the new me, and that’s still a beautiful human being, and that’s still a sexy human being.” “We live in a society where social media is all about filtering ourselves and not being one hundred with who we are, and I think it’s really taken away the beauty of people, which is that we’re all different.”
It’s not always easy to shut out the unrealistic body standards that permeate society’s culture, though. “We put a lot of pressure on women to snap back, but there’s so much that comes with being pregnant and also giving birth,” says Brooks, who had an emergency C-section. “[It’s] a major surgery that people take very lightly at times,” she says, explaining that it took a month to physically heal from her Cesarean section, and that doesn’t even account for the mental toll. “That was really a tough time in my life — to come to grips with this new title that I now have and this new body and this new human being that I have to raise and teach her how to love herself,” she says.
Brooks wants to be honest about the realities of being pregnant and giving birth because when more people are realistic about how physically and mentally tough becoming a mother is, the more it will allow others to “give themselves more grace and more self-love and patience,” she says. Celebrities are often celebrated for “bouncing back” quickly after giving birth, notes Brooks. “That’s great, but I also think we need to celebrate the woman who is embracing where she is, which might not be a bounce back,” she says, adding that she’s more than willing to share her story if it helps someone else “heal from whatever trauma they’ve experienced giving birth.”
Not only does Brooks seem dedicated to lifting up other moms, but she also prioritises making sure her daughter feels positive about herself. “I just give her affirmations every day,” she says, explaining that she tells her daughter she’s beautiful while putting lotion on her face, admires her curls while doing her hair, and compliments her muscles when talking about her body. “I just affirm her every day, and when I see that smile, I’m like ooo-wee, that’s what I need to be giving to myself,” she adds. “I think sometimes we focus too much on what we want to be and what we want to have, but you’re only given one body and I think it’s important to embrace that one body.”
Celebrating her daughter reminds Brooks to celebrate herself, she explains. She also shows herself love by working out and relaxing with her favourite activities. When it comes to exercise, Brooks hits the elliptical and jogs on the treadmill at the gym and works to meet her daily steps goal. “I’m obsessed with my Apple watch,” she says. But she also incorporates more playful yet challenging workouts into her routine. The self-proclaimed cardio-lover does trampoline aerobics and hip hop classes that she finds on YouTube, which she enjoys because they’re “really easy on my knees,” says Brooks. She’s also a fan of jumping rope. “I have the jump rope [that] can count your jumps for you — [I] love it,” she says.
As for when it comes time to wind down, Brooks enjoys a good bubble bath. “I love to throw those bath bombs in the water, light a candle, read a play, listen to some music…that’s my time,” she says. She also enjoys taking herself out to lunch for a solo meal. “I pick a restaurant, have a nice glass of wine, and maybe take a little walk after,” she says. These are the things that help her “be at peace.”
This story first appeared on www.shape.com
(Credit for the hero and featured image: Getty Images)
© 2021 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved. Licensed from Shape.com and published with permission of Meredith Corporation. Reproduction in any manner in any language in whole or in part without prior written permission is prohibited.
Shape and the Shape Logo are registered trademarks of Meredith Corporation. Used under License.
The post Danielle Brooks talks snap-back culture, trampoline workouts, and keeping it real appeared first on Prestige Online – Singapore.
