Former Wine Queen shares her struggle with bodyshaming

In 2023, Loredana Belli was crowned Wine Queen in Grevenmacher. While the crown, parades, and festivities looked glamorous from the outside, her year in office was marred by persistent negative remarks about her appearance. She raised the issue in her farewell speech last year, breaking with the usually celebratory tone of such occasions. Now, 12 months on, she opens up about her feelings.

Belli recalled that even before her coronation, comments about her body were constant. She said that at one festival, a man – whom she didn't even know –  grabbed her arm to tell her she was the "worst thing that had ever happened" to the role.

On another occasion, while a portrait of her painted by a friend was displayed on her float, a woman nearby sneered to him that he had been forced to paint "that ugly creature". Such episodes were far from isolated. In the run-up to her coronation she also faced jibes about her piercings, tattoos, and casual clothes, she said.

She admitted that the experience left its mark: she began attending public events bracing herself for insults, which became almost routine. "Those months were the hardest," she said, describing the tears, the exhaustion, and the doubt sown by strangers' words. She sometimes caught herself wondering whether she really was doing something wrong.

Signs of solidarity

Bodyshaming, however, goes far beyond one example. It can target someone's body shape, height, weight, hair, face, tattoos, piercings, or even muscle tone. Whatever form it takes, it leaves scars. That was the message Belli wanted to highlight in her speech, preferring honesty over sweeping it under the rug.

Her candour struck a chord. One of those who reacted was Yannick Schumacher, better known on social media as Yaya van Chique. He said he admired how she had pushed back against the hostility, and admitted he would have done the same.

Schumacher himself has long experience of bodyshaming: already in primary school he was told repeatedly that he was "too chubby". He recalled that as a child he could not understand why this was a problem, but that the constant remarks hurt deeply.

Today, Schumacher is very active on Instagram, where he sees endless accounts showcasing the same kind of slim, standardised body. He argues that it is vital to normalise the visibility of all body types. Otherwise, he said, people who don't fit the mould are still treated as exceptional or even "brave" just for showing themselves. "I'm not brave," he insisted, "I'm simply myself".

That is the essence of the body positivity movement: encouraging people to be content in their own skin, no matter how it compares to so-called norms.

For Belli, time has brought some healing. She said she is no longer constantly afraid of what people might say, and now feels more able to respond if necessary. "At least it has taught me to cope better with those situations".

After her speech, she was approached by former Wine Queens who told her they had faced similar experiences, proof that bodyshaming can touch anyone.