For most of his life, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan said he has tried to hide his port wine birthmark, which covers part of his left hand and wrist and runs down his forearm, but now the musician is embracing being comfortable with all parts of himself. 

In an Instagram post Monday, the two-time Grammy winner, 57, used his story as a way of encouraging fans to “find peace with who you are.”

“I’m a fan of body positivity movements because at the end of the day it is about celebrating what makes us ‘us,’” Corgan captioned a photo of him wearing a purple sweater with its sleeves rolled up to show off the birthmark. The post also includes a photo of model Carlotta Bertotti as an example of someone “with a birthmark who has embraced her ‘difference’ with grace.”

“My point being that my whole life I’ve endeavoured to hide my ‘port wine’ birthmarks because as you can imagine I was teased unmercifully about them as a child,” Corgan shared.

“So much so that people who have known me for a decade are shocked when they finally ‘see it.’ And even now strangers will stop me on the street not because they recognize me but because they think something is wrong with me that requires medical attention,” he continued, noting some of the questions people would ask him, ranging from “is that a burn?” to “are you sick?” “is it contagious?” and “does it hurt?”

Concluding his post, Corgan shared a “positive message for the day.”

“Whoever you are, I hope you find peace with who you are because: I would like to know that person and no one else,” he wrote.

The post comes days after People announced Corgan and his wife, Chloé Mendel Corgan, 31, are expecting their third baby together. The couple already share Philomena, 5, and Augustus, 8.

“We are overjoyed to announce that our family is growing!” the soon-to-be mom told the outlet in an article published Aug. 28. “It’s an exciting time for us, although unexpected!”

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