She may not have made much of a splash IMO with her performances in X-men: First Class or The Hunger Games, but seeing her in The Silver Linings Playbook totally sold me on Jennifer Lawrence as an actress. Now, after having learned a bit more about her, I'm sold on her as a person.

It may sound odd, but I think that she makes a pretty darn awesome role model - for both men and women.

Let's list some of her achievements:

She made it to the last round of Esquire Magazine's Woman of the Year competition - only barely losing to Blurred Lines girl Emily Ratajkowski. [caption id="attachment_31326" align="aligncenter" width="614"]

Source: http://www.esquire.com

She landed in 5^th place on Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women of 2013. [caption id="attachment_31327" align="aligncenter" width="620"]

Source: http://www.maxim.com

She won an Oscar for her role in the Silver Linings Playbook - a role that has cemented her place in the world of entertainment.

She's pretty darn cute [caption id="attachment_31330" align="aligncenter" width="615"]

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk

Even with the new pixie cut...

But, these things aren't what make her a role model that even I - a very manly man - could see myself being a bit more like.

Here are the reasons I think Jennifer Lawrence makes a superb role model:  

1. She's got attitude to spare

Who doesn't love a person with attitude? This picture pretty much says it all: [caption id="attachment_31329" align="aligncenter" width="458"]

Source: http://www.mstarz.com

2. She's confident in her body

As a guy with body issues living in a world filled with people with similar body issues, finding someone with confidence in her body just the way it is can be refreshing.

The fact that she's so confident with her body has actually cost her a few roles in movies - movies where producers wanted her to lose weight.

She has said,“I’d rather look chubby on screen and like a person in real life."  

3. She's not afraid to refuse

"If anybody even tries to whisper the word "diet", I’m like, "You can go f*** yourself."

In a world where slim is in, she's not afraid to lose a role just because they want her to change the way she is. She'd prefer to be herself, and let the chips fall where they may. That's an attitude all of us with body issues should emulate!

In an interview for Newsnight, she said "We have the ability to control this image that young girls are going to be seeing. They see enough of this body that they will never be able to obtain and it's an amazing opportunity to rid ourselves of that in this industry."  

4. She doesn't care about what the "norm" or "pop" look is

In an interview for Elle magazine, she talked about her preparation for the nearly-naked role of Mystique in X-men: First Class. "

“I knew that if I was going to be naked in front of the world, I wanted to look like a woman and not a prepubescent 13-year-old boy… I’m so sick of people thinking that’s what we’re supposed to look like."

Best of all, before the Oscars, she scarfed down a high-calorie sandwich - despite people telling her not to have a sandwich. Gotta love that!  

5. She's genuinely a decent person

How many stars with her celebrity would stop and do something like she did at her Catching Fire premiere:

A lot of what makes her a great actress and an amazing person is how genuine, down-to-earth, and simple she is.

Guys and gals, take a lesson from Miss Lawrence. Say "f**k you" to the conventional body image, and love what you've got! That doesn't mean to stop working hard to improve your body, but don't let stupid pop trends like "the thigh gap" stop you from loving what you see in the mirror!