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Blogger Katey Johnson: ‘This Is Me in a Dress I Have No Business Wearing’

Blogger Katey Johnson
Blogger Katey Johnson Courtesy Katey Johnson/Facebook

“This is me in a dress I have no business wearing.” That is the first line of a Facebook post written by The Mother Octopus blogger Katey Johnson on Monday, August 14. In the accompanying photograph taken during a girls’ weekend, Johnson, 40, is seen smiling in a clingy black sheath.

“I know it’s not flattering but I don’t want you to say, ‘OMG, YOU LOOK GREAT!’ I don’t want you to say, ‘GOOD FOR YOU!’ I want you to know why I’m wearing a dress I have no business wearing,” Johnson wrote. “Someone could say that I look a little pregnant in it, because of, you know, that part sticking out in the front. I do look a little pregnant. That’s fine.”

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The Islip, New York-based mom of Olivia, 10, and James, 7, went on to explain that she bought the sexy LBD to wear on a trip she took with her husband, Greg, in July. “When I tried it on, I knew the dress wasn’t for my 5’2” body, 160 lb. body, but I felt great in it. I don’t know why. I just did,” Johnson revealed. “I’m not known to wear form-fitting clothes. At all. But I wanted it, so I bought it. And I was proud of myself for it.”

Katey Johnson Family
Blogger Katey Johnson with her family Courtesy Katey Johnson

In the post, Johnson, a former Us Weekly staffer, notes that she has battled her weight her entire life. “After 40 years of telling myself I have no business wearing things I want to wear, I’ve decided to change the subject. I’ve decided to start being kind to myself.”

She continued: “For 40 years I’ve stood in the mirror and compared how I look to how I THINK I should look. And it’s exhausting. Now, in an ugly world where I have so many other more important things to worry about, I’m hitting that red decline button when the self-doubt calls start pouring in. I don’t want to do it anymore. I want to be in the business of loving myself. It’s as simple as that.”

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Johnson’s message has been liked nearly 10,000 times. “I think everyone struggles with body issues, regardless of sex or age. Everyone feels vulnerable when it comes to how they look and how others perceive them,” she exclusively tells Us Weekly. “We’re so inundated with images of the ideal body that picturing our less than ideal bodies in a beautiful way has become difficult for a lot of people.”

She added: “Posting that photo on my blog, Instagram and Facebook wasn’t easy for me. But I hope that my moment of bravery will inspire others to let go of their inhibitions a bit.”

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