Instagram can be a wonderful and inspiring place, full of beautiful and artistic images of the places we want to see, and the people we want to be. However, beneath the shiny veneer is a harsh reality. The difference between real or fake vanishes. Many of these 'perfect' images promote totally unreachable ideals and gives us unrealistic expectations that can never be achieved and only lead to feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and unhappiness.
Popular Instagram influencer and blogger Chessie King recognizes this and uses her platform to promote body positivity, showing the 'true' side to each 'perfect' photo by highlighting the incredible difference that certain poses make.
To make her point she poses in deliberately unflattering positions and angles, juxtaposing this with the typical 'fake' Instagram poses that models use to make their stomachs appear flatter, their legs longer and their waists narrower. The results are eye-opening, and, for those Instagrammers who are becoming used to believe that perfect is the new norm, a much-needed reality check about the beauty standards of today.
“THIS IS ME. THIS IS MY BODY. No flattering angles, no flattering lighting, just me and my body feeling on top of the world,” she wrote on one post. “A few years ago I would never have posted this, all I cared about back then was being the leanest I could, going to the gym as many times as I could a week, and counting every calorie I ate.”
“Even at my smallest, when I was training the most with my personal trainer & eating the least, I just wanted to cover up my body because it wasn’t my idea of ‘perfect.’ Now my priority is to be happy and comfortable in my own skin, and today I appreciate my body and what it does for me. We were not made to be Barbie dolls who LOOK insanely good 24/7, we were made to be HUMAN and we should all be allowed to FEEL insanely good 24/7. Come at me keyboard warriors, you can say what you want but nothing will knock my body positive attitude down.”
The social media trolls did indeed come out of the woodwork, making cruel “suggestions” of how she could improve her body. In response, Chessie made a shocking Instagram video of herself, which took their suggestions into account. “If we changed our body and natural beauty for every troll, listened to every cyber bully, we would be monsters. Whether you have 23 followers or 3 million, NO ONE should have to deal with regular hate online,” she captioned the grotesque video.
Chessie continues to push back against unrealistic ideals, Instagram trends and the pernicious nature of online trolls, doing so with a smile and a wicked sense of humor. Scroll down to check out some of her pics below, and you can visit her Instagram here. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Meet Chessie King, Instagram blogger and champion of body-positivity
She's on a mission to help girls gain some body confidence, by showing all those perfect Instagram pics are nothing but a lie
"Neither of these photos are edited or photoshopped, same bottom just 2 completely different angles"
"It infuriates me to see ‘you’re too fat to wear those trousers’ on a recent post of mine. When I was the size I was in the left photo I had people telling me I was ‘too thin’ & ‘needing feeding up’..."
"It's okay to find your 'pose' you feel comfortable in in photos but it's even better to feel comfortable just standing flat foot on the ground, smiling like the grinch"
Chessie continues to push back against unrealistic ideals
"We’re all guilty of trying to pose to make our bodies look the best it can & that’s okay..."
"...but it’s photos like the right that help us all feel a little bit normal"
"I can change my body in 2 seconds, from the left photo to the right & in both, I feel good"
"Just a little reminder how easy it is to change your body"
"Left: this morning (no 'flattering lighting' or tensing) Right: this afternoon. I've eaten alllll the chocolate, all the hot cross buns & ALL the popcorn"
"Instagram is FLOODED with the left photos when actually we should be drowning in 'the real life booty' pictures"
"This is not a pregnancy announcement. This is 8:30am Friday morning. Bloating doesn’t just happen after a day of eating loads of food"
"Hot sweaty mess to Wimbledon ready in just half an hour"
"These photos are literally a second apart"
"If I edited my photos like the right, people would see me face to face & be like HELLLLL SHE DOUBLED IN SIZE"
"When I was at my smallest, I was definitely not my happiest"
She constantly reminds that focusing on your weight is not the way to gaining body-confidence
"These photos were taken just minutes apart. The leggings on the left are a Large, the leggings on the right are a Small. Different brands"
Despite being a body-positivity blogger, Chessie still deals with body shamers all the time, so she photoshopped her body based on their criticisms
"If we changed our body for every troll, listened to every cyber bully, we would be monsters"
"Whether you have 23 followers or 3 million, NO ONE should have to deal with regular hate online"
