Body-positive activist Marciel Hopkins takes World Swimsuit Girl of the Day title

The 2016 Top 12 Miss SA finalist said she was 'ready to be the first ever curve model to represent World Swimsuit'.

Marciel Hopkins tweeted that she was the World Swimsuit Girl of the Day on Tuesday. Picture: Screenshot from @MarcielHopkins1 on Twitter

The Miss South Africa top 12 finalist in 2016 and international curve model was named the World Swimsuit Girl of the Day on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Hopkins took to her public Facebook page on January 5 to share words of encouragement and a photograph that compared her body shape from 2015 to 2017. She encouraged readers to make their bodies their “new best friend” and said, “Self-acceptance is a relationship that you have to work on daily.”

See a screenshot of the post here:

A screenshot of the post by Marciel Hopkins on her Facebook page. Picture: Facebook

On Marciel Hopkins’ page on the World Swimsuit website, she said she was completing her studies to become a life coach, after achieving her honours degree in psychology at Stellenbosch University in 2015. She further described herself as a “body-positive activist” and said she prioritises health over size.

“I believe that all bodies deserve representation and I am ready to be the first-ever curve model to represent World Swimsuit,” she said in the website post. And on Tuesday, Hopkins achieved this ambition.

She took to Twitter to say: “I’m honoured & excited to be @WorldSwimsuit Girl of the Day. It’s time for a curve model to represent #bodydiversity”.

I'm honoured & excited to be @WorldSwimsuit Girl of the Day. It's time for a curve model to represent #bodydiversity pic.twitter.com/TqLQdmpKK5

— Marciel Hopkins (@MarcielHopkins1) April 18, 2017

At the end of March, Hopkins called on her followers to vote for her for the World Swimsuit title. She said, “It’s time for a curve model to REPRESENT!”

A screenshot of the post on the public Marciel Hopkins Facebook page. Picture: Marciel Hopkins on Facebook

A screenshot of a post on the public Marciel Hopkins Facebook page. Picture: Marciel Hopkins on Facebook

She then took to her Facebook page the next day to thank her followers for their support after she reached “two stars in only one night!”

A screenshot of a post on the public Marciel Hopkins Facebook page. Picture: Marciel Hopkins on Facebook

Hopkins further uses her social platforms to uplift others and in a post on April 6, she wrote a “Dear body” post on Facebook in which she said, “It’s not your job to fit into a certain size or mould” to her body.

A screenshot of a post on the public Marciel Hopkins Facebook page. Picture: Marciel Hopkins on Facebook

With a couple more posts to uplift her followers and ask them to vote for her, on Tuesday, Hopkins gave thanks for those who voted, saying, “Thank you SO much for voting, I am World Swimsuit Girl of the Day! I appreciate all your love and support.”

A screenshot of a post on the public Marciel Hopkins Facebook page. Picture: Marciel Hopkins on Facebook

The post received more than 250 reactions by Wednesday afternoon and her Facebook followers were positive about her achievement. One said, “You inspire so many.”

A screenshot of the comments on Marciel Hopkins’ post on her public Facebook page. Picture: Marciel Hopkins on Facebook

Earlier in April, Hopkins used her public platform to slam apps that were “promoting the ability to ‘beautify’ us”, she wrote in a Facebook post. She said she found such apps “insulting”.

She went on to say, “You are the only one who defines your beauty, from the inside out. You can throw a middle finger at all beautifying apps when you see them promoted. There is NO need for you to be ‘corrected’, you are not a grammatical error. Take ownership of your poetic licence to life and beauty, you are already magnificent as you are. I am sending you acceptance, strength and love in abundance!”