Let’s be real: loving your appearance is hard enough, but when you throw social media into the mix, it can really make you obsess over your imperfections.
Between perfectly airbrushed influencers and flattering filters, there’s a lot that our feed can do to make us feel bad about ourselves.
Plus, when it’s summer, and you’re constantly scrolling through model-worthy bikini pictures, it can be difficult not to draw unhelpful comparisons with your own body.
Thankfully, a fresh wave of body positivity is sweeping Instagram, and there’s a new viral trend that’s shining a light on the fact that women’s bodies look different all the time, and that we shouldn’t feel ashamed when we don’t look our best.
Dubbed ‘Reality vs. Reality’, the movement sees Instagrammers post a ‘posed’ and ‘relaxed’ photo side-by-side, along with an empowering statement based on the assumption that our bodies are real and beautiful, whether they’re posed in the perfect Instagram shot or captured in a seemingly less flattering light.
Although they might look similar, it differs from its viral predecessor ‘Instagram vs. Reality’, which also showed comparative pictures of women looking their best next to a photo that they felt showed their imperfections.
According to those leading the charge, the problem with the older movement is that it suggests that the Instagram-acceptable version of our body is somehow superior to the one we see 99% of the time in the mirror, which can have a negative effect on a woman’s self-worth.
Basically, we’re moving the conversation forward.
“I don’t care if you pose for photos or if you just hang out. Because posed or relaxed, arched or slumped, whatever you do with your body, it is still you,” writes Danae Mercer, an influencer who is at the forefront of the movement.
“This is your body, looking different within 0.007 seconds as you turn briefly in the mirror. If you can love yourself at the ‘good angles’, you can love yourself at the ‘bad angles’, too,” added another Instagrammer, speaking on the trend.
While we’re not here to shame anyone about posting beautiful photos of themselves looking their best (heck, we’re all guilty of it), it can be really refreshing to see women going against societal pressure and sharing the realities of their bodies. Stretch marks, cellulite and all.
Basically, whether you’re flexing on the beach looking buff on your holidays, or you’re slumping on the sofa in front of Netflix, your body is still your body, and it’s beautiful in every form. We reckon that’s a trend we can definitely get on board with.