At this point, it’s a cliché to even note that social media can make us feel pretty bad about ourselves.
Shaped by the extraordinary cultural power of increasingly astute algorithms, the endless exposure to an infinite carousel of beautiful faces and Victoria’s Secret-esque bodies is unavoidable. But, in case you hadn’t noticed, the vast majority of women do not look like Kendall Jenner – and there are a new set of body positive influencers on the ‘Gram who are here to remind you of that.
By now, you’ve probably scrolled past the ‘Instagram vs reality’ shots, where influencers contort their bodies under totally unforgiving, harsh lighting to emphasise their stomach fat, in an attempt to make their enviable bodies seem more relatable.
The point is to show off what society has conditioned us to count as ‘flaws’, such as fat rolls, acne, stretchmarks, or cellulite. These posts are intended to remind us that skinny, size eight women are real people and that they have ‘flaws’ too. And whilst for many, these image serve as a beacon of body empowerment, but others have brandished the movement as fake and tone-deaf.
Lest we forget, the majority of influencers posting these images are thin, white, able-bodied women who pose to accentuate their body’s defects, or, sometimes, to create new defects entirely.
“I know my intention with what I post is, and always has been, only good vibes,” says Hayley Madigan, a UK-based personal trainer. “This movement is designed to help women understand how society and media have placed a false ideal on how a woman should look.”
“It’s vital for every woman of every size to show these poses”, says Hayley. “Size eight models who are represented in the media have had their images edited to perfection and then shown to the world in order to make us believe this is the norm. But the thing is, models don’t look like that in real life. We want to show the world, especially the younger generation who are more impressionable, the truth that women who are a size eight still have cellulite, stretch marks, stomach rolls and acne. It allows others to feel less pressure in attaining these fake beauty standards and allows them to be free from chasing perfection.”
I am well aware that the gorgeous women I scroll past daily on my Insta feed are often the product of highly complex poses, angles and good lighting. Which is exactly me why I’m thankful for another set of gorgeous women – these influencers -, who do exactly that: remind me that it really just is down to highly complex poses, angles, good lighting – and, more often than not, a lot of Photoshop and Facetune.
Cosmo contributor and body activist Danae Mercer adds, “There absolutely is a privilege in the fact I can even have these types of conversations, or that my body can easily fit a certain accepted aesthetic. And that’s important to acknowledge.”
Mik Zazon, health coach, retreat owner and social media influencer, agrees. “Those that live in thinner bodies do need to acknowledge their privilege. They live at an advantage because they are thin, so their images will be shown more than women with plus-size bodies. But ultimately we all have the same goal: to normalize all bodies. Yes, there are women with thinner bodies posing to show that they, too, have ‘normal’ bodies, and they get some backlash because people think they’re just doing it for Instagram clout. But what everyone needs to remember is that we are all on the same team and have the same goal.”
“We need to shout about this movement from the rooftops to stop women picking holes in their bodies, and judging themselves based on other people’s appearances. We should start lifting one another up through empowering each other!” says Hayley.
Whilst these women have amassed huge followings for showing off their bloated bellies and loose skin on social media, not everyone is entirely happy with them.
“It really bugs me that thin people are taking up a lot of space in the ‘body positivity/self love’ corner of the internet,” Raffela Mancuso, an activist from Canada, wrote on social media.
“My body and my rolls are there 100 per cent of the time. There is no photo angle or position where I can pose where I don’t have rolls,” another comment said.
Look, I can see where the anger stems from. I, too, do not have thin privilege. I can’t take out my rolls when it’s convenient for me, but at the end of the day, in a culture that regularly sends damaging messages about dieting, body image and health on the daily, I can’t get enough of these side-by-side images pointing out just how misleading Instagram can be.
Sure, #fitspo can be great. It can motivate, build communities and empower people, but it’s also so important that there is a visual rhetoric on the internet reminding us not to hold ourselves to a certain standard of beauty. Feeds full of perfectly taut abs and lean limbs can be incredibly damaging to our self-esteem, so I would argue that, actually, it is even more important for women of a smaller stature (i.e. Danae, Hayley, Mik…) to show their filter-free selves.