‘Cellulite on full display’: Aussie singer starts a movement with bikini snap

Amy Sheppard never set out to start a movement, but the 28-year-old front woman of Aussie band Sheppard has gained a legion of fans with her unfiltered and honest approach to body image.

Dubbed the ‘Kiss My Fat Ass’ movement on Instagram, the singer wanted to help put an end to unattainable standards of beauty placed on women, and now the group has turned this powerful message into a song.

“It all started with a picture of me beside the pool,” Amy tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I was sick of trying to keep up with the Instagram game and I posted a photo of me in a bikini from behind with my cellulite on full display.”

Movement sparks huge response

Amy admits she was shocked by the hugely positive reaction the image had, which made her realise how much people were craving more relatable content online.

“We all have perceived imperfections and I’m not sure who set the beauty standard bar but it’s not achievable and very unrealistic,” she tells us.

Since then she regularly shares images and videos with her 59k followers, all essentially an ‘up yours’ to beauty standards.

Amy herself has opened up previously about the pressure in her industry to maintain a certain look and the negative comments she was subjected to if her body changed from one appearance to another.

But thanks to the movement and the support for it online, she has been able to learn to accept her own body.

“[The reaction] has has been very healing for my own insecurities,” she says.

“I want women to know that they aren’t alone in feeling like they don’t fit in or feeling uncomfortable in their skin,” Amy continues.

“I want them to know that we all feel insecure at one point or another and that it’s OK to have rolls, scars, pimples and cellulite. It’s called being human and it doesn’t make us any less worthy of love or success.”

New single ‘Kiss My Fat Ass’

Seeing the wave of people that felt similar to Amy, she and her band decided to devote their new single, and music video to the cause.

The tune is aptly named 'Kiss My Fat Ass' and was written by Amy as a big middle finger to unrealistic beauty ideals.

The band have also filming a new music video, featuring a diverse group of women, including trainer Tiffany Hall, fitness fanatic Kara Saunders, and Paralympic swimmer Monique Murphy.

“Reading every comment, email and DM has inspired this single,” Amy tells us.

The new single and video will be out on Friday, July 26, and Amy hopes everyone who hears the song and watches the video will come away feeling confident and happy in their own body.

‘Your worth is not your weight’

“Your worth does not lie in how much you weigh or what you look like,” she says.

“Your worth is in the challenges you overcome, it’s in how kind you are to others and it’s in the way you make a positive impact on this world.

“I encourage everyone to watch the music video for this song as it includes some very inspiring women. Beauty is shown in so many unique ways and I really wanted to depict that in this music video.”

Dancing in a bikini

Amy recently shared a clip of herself dancing in a bikini, which received a huge reaction online.

"Woman dances freely in a bikini, gives no f*%cks and lives happily ever after," she captioned the post from June.

The video, which included the hashtag #kissmyfatass, has been viewed 38k times.

“You’re so inspirational, I don’t know what I would do without the one and only Amy Sheppard,” one person commented on the clip.

“You are an absolute LEGEND!!!! I love what you are doing for all women,” another wrote.

“Okay I LOVE this. Have been feeling fat and criticising my belly every day but I need to stop!!! And accept who I am today,” was another response.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.