This summer, instead of falling into the age-old trap of swaddling our glorious bodies in layers of kaftans, holding in our stomachs while posing on sunbeds with friends, and deleting pictures of our sweaty upper lips, unexplainable tan lines, stretch marks and dimples, we'll be taking a leaf out of actress Ariel Winter's book and embracing every inch of our curves.

In an interview with Refinery29, the Modern Family actress has opened up about the days she feels 'uncomfortable' with her body, despite being on a mission to champion body positivity among men and women.

The 19-year-old admitted: 'Because I'm honest about my insecurities, people think I'm 100 per cent positive about my body all the time, but I'm not.

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'I get really uncomfortable, too. But I just remind myself that this is the body I was given. This is who I am,' she added.

The star – who underwent surgery to reduce her former 32F chest in 2015 and subsequently received a barrage of abuse regarding her figure – also admitted she's finally found peace with being dressed in swimwear, no matter what the haters say.

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'When I got the breast reduction it helped me feel so much better about my body.

'I used to have full-scale meltdowns in bathing suit shops because there was nothing I could find to wear. I always felt like crap about myself,' she revealed.

The actress, who has over three million Instagram followers, also admitted: 'My best friend, she's super tall and skinny and she'll wear the same bathing suit as me, but people will automatically look at me and call me out as a sh*t or write headlines about 'Ariel Winter's cleavage''.

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'Meanwhile they look at her like, 'Oh she looks so cute!' But I've learned to not care about that as much. I'm comfortable in a bathing suit, scars and all,' she noted.

Having made her debut on her hit ABC show at the tender age of 11, Ariel said it's taken time for her to learn to accept herself, especially when she continues to receive comments on social media slamming her body confidence.

'I decided that instead of pleasing these other people, I'll just spend that time pleasing myself.

'Those people are going to be rude to me regardless of what I do, so I should just try and be happy with what I am,' she added.

Oh, and to any critic who attempts to beach-shame her, or anyone else for that matter, this summer, Ariel has one thing to say:

'People are so stressed out about how they're going to look in their bathing suits that they forget to go to the beach because they want to go to the beach, which defeats the whole purpose.

'The beach should be a safe space,' she added.

Hear, hear.

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Katie O'Malley
Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.