Health

Ariel Winter Knows You Saw Her Scars on the Red Carpet, Here's Why She Showed Them to You

February 2nd 2016

Many have lauded "Modern Family" actress Ariel Winter for proudly showing off her breast reduction scars on the red carpet.

The actress, who attended this year's SAG Awards ceremony over the weekend, tweeted on Sunday that she chose not to hide her scars at the event because they are part of her identity. Many people are self-conscious about their scars and physical imperfections, so it's empowering to see the 18-year-old celebrity embrace all aspects of herself and show others that scars of any kind are nothing to be ashamed of. 

Ariel WinterDan MacMedan / Getty

Ariel WinterDan MacMedan / Getty

Last summer, then 17-year-old Winter spoke to Glamour about her decision to have breast reduction surgery, confessing that hurtful comments about her body made her feel bad about herself.

"We live in a day and age where everything you do is ridiculed," Winter told the publication. "The Internet bullies are awful. I could post a photo where I feel good, and 500 people will comment about how fat I am and that I am disgusting."

Winter also said it was a challenge to find "age appropriate" gowns because of her natural breast size, and that people would often criticize her for dressing "mature."

"I didn’t really have an option other than to wear fitted clothes," she said. "Everyone would [say], 'Why is she dressing so mature? That’s so inappropriate for her age!' I understood what they were saying. It’s not like I wanted to pick out those inappropriate dresses, it’s just that I didn’t really have another choice, or I was going to get ridiculed. It’s hard when you’re a teenage girl and you already have a lot of ridicule and then you pile on more, and it’s kind of…it just gets too much."

In November 2015, Winter weathered a lot of sexist comments from trolls after posting an Instagram photo of herself in a bikini beside her nieces:

Winter said that many people slut-shamed her for this picture and said she was "asking for it," prompting her to share a follow-up Instagram post about the problem of slut-shaming in our culture.

"Who knew that an innocent photo with my nieces would turn into this?" she wrote. "The height of a girl's skirt or whatever she is wearing for that matter, does not imply what she is asking for. It sickens me to think at 17-years-old, a photo of myself with my nieces is suggesting that I'm 'asking for it.'"

RELATED: Ariel Winter Calls out Vine Star Nash Grier's "Homophobic" Past

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