With confidence like this, nothing can stand in her way
There are countless, exhausting versions of "the perfect woman." But for Zietta van Rensburg, a local attorney, women need to be two things: who and what they want. They are enough.
MALALANE – This 36-year-old divorced mother of three young children, attorney and business owner has looked many challenges in the eye and not backed down.
“My 16-year-old body was perfect (although I did not think so at the time), but my 36-year-old body I adore… it has been to war with me. Even when the spirit does not want to, my body drags me out of bed. Sometimes it is as little as one step in front of the other,” said Zietta, describing her life as chaos, but fun.
At 16, she hit a solid DD and burst into tears when she could not find a sports bra in her size in the whole of Port Elizabeth, where she originally hailed from before moving to the Onderberg.
“I had a total breakdown. It did not help that my cup size just increased. “But, my grandmother used to say, ‘Curl into a ball and cry, hide if you must, but at some stage you have to put your big girl panties on!’ Life is chaos and consistently so. Embrace it. Live it.”
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And that is exactly what Zietta did, following 14 years of stagnancy, her divorce, and most importantly, a challenge posted by an underwear designer, Sarah Elizabeth, an advocate for living life with confidence, to share her own story of a real woman – a real body – for Women’s Month, to encourage women to accept themselves and live an active lifestyle. Part of the challenge to share her story was a no-holds-barred photoshoot.
Amy Evelyn Johnson was the chosen photographer for something that was completely out of Zietta’s comfort zone. “I had to show my perfect flaws. First I had to wrap
my head around my flaws being perfect, because that is not what I see in the mirror.
“Amy is probably the reincarnated Amy Johnson, the pilot who did pioneering solo flights over the English Channel, because this was the daunting challenge facing her. She took up the challenge and where I thought I would be shy, timid and scared, she nailed the brief, which she could only have done by getting the most stubborn, private person on earth out of her comfort zone. It was natural. It was fun. The photos say it all,” Zietta said.
“It was a massive leap out of my comfort zone to go from this little girl hiding and crying in the bathroom to this. After 14 years of living a stagnant life, I became active again. Open-water swimming, running, yoga, cycling… I embraced just about everything life could throw at me. I failed miserably at many things, but got up and dusted myself off. I could not have done any of this without the unwavering support of friends and the amazing products Sarah supplied.
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“She helped me rise from the ashes and mended a 20-year-old wound. I developed early. I got teased – a lot. “Other women who were also teased, said it was by other girls. I became so self-conscious at primary age level that I changed in the toilets hidden away from the other girls. They had these cute training bras and I was on underwire. Sarah set the challenge and gave me
the freedom to explore this.”
Sarah Elizabeth is currently running a promotion for Women’s Month in which women can win one of her wonderful sports bras by posting a photo of them doing any form of activity, even just walking, with the hashtag #ordinarilyactive.
