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Instagram Is Taking Over With Their Inspirational and Radical Body Positivity Movement

Media, in general, has a very long-standing relationship with exclusive body and beauty types but these days it's a growing movement to reject society's beauty standards and empower everyone instead. Rejecting body shaming and lifting up people of all sha

Elana
Instagram Is Taking Over With Their Inspirational and Radical Body Positivity Movement

Media, in general, has a very long-standing relationship with exclusive body and beauty types but these days it's a growing movement to reject society's beauty standards and empower everyone instead. Rejecting body shaming and lifting up people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages is an inspiring endeavor that knows no boundaries. Instagram just happens to be the perfect platform for refusing to back down since it' a very visually appealing platform to begin with that's 100% focused on photo sharing and inspiring imagery. 

While some models are really taking the spotlight the main focus is: YOU are beautiful. Because you are.

1. Tess Holliday

If you have heard anything in the last few years about body positivity and ending the "fat shaming," then you've probably heard of Tess Holliday. As a well known "Plus Model" and entrepreneur (and wife and mother,) Tess created the #effyourbeautystandards hashtag and has a long-standing platform surrounded by strong personal convictions of empowerment. Over the years she has posted photos and videos of her working out all while shamelessly and proudly modeling with an intensity and fierceness many others could only dream of. 

The caption on this photo actually sums her up pretty well:

I was born to stand out, to make people question everything they thought they knew & to exist fearlessly in a space that we are told bodies that look like mine don't deserve to be shown. I'm #QueenOf Boldness! I wear crop tops because they make me feel sexy & unstoppable.. & I'm not stopping.

2. Olakemi

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Olakemi is the founder of the #PlusIsDiverse movement and that's not all that packs the punch to this incredible woman. She is also a model and a body confidence activist. Okalemi is a champion of diversity in both media representation of women and body types along with modeling and she's a majorly vocal supporter of loving, appreciating, and respecting all body types. The 27-year-old, London-born model was discovered only 4 years ago and since then has gone on to model in editorial, catalog, runway and commercial areas of the mighty fashion industry. She is surely a force to be reckoned with. 

3. Iskra Lawrence

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Iskra Lawrence is a European Plus Sized Model who made her way into the modeling world thanks to Aerie. Aerie launched a campaign #AerieReal in which they made it their mission to hire real women with real curves to model their lingerie, all without the use of any Photoshop. Thanks to her work with Aerie, Iskra racked up over 3.5 million followers on Instagram and she uses that platform to spread body positivity with the profound message that every body is beautiful.

You go, girlfriend. 

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4. Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham is one of the most famous and popular body positivity activist models in the world right now and it's really not hard to see why. She made world wide news in 2016 when she became the first ever size 16 model to grace the cover of the very popular Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue but prior to that she spent years making a presence for herself online as "a confident, beautiful, outspoken woman who knows that beauty goes beyond size." A brief browsing down her Instagram feed proves she's been on multiple major magazine covers including Glamour and Elle! She also has her own clothing line! Success! 

Ashley is a phenomenal role model and uses her fame and online presence to engage with her fans and followers to spread her messages of love and positivity. 

#LoveMagazine by #PatrickDemarchelier

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5. Winnie Harlow

Contrary to popular belief, the Body Positivity movement is about so much more than what size a woman wears and Winnie Harlow is a flawless example of just how many ways this movement can and will impact women everywhere.

Winnie became a fashion name when she took America's Next Top Model by storm as a contestant. Since then she has absolutely rocked the modeling world. Winnie Harlow has a skin condition called vitiligo, and that causes patches of her skin to lose their pigment. For perspective, about 1 to 2% of Americans have this skin condition and while that percentage doesn't seem large, that comes to close to 6 million people, and that's only in the United States! Globally, people afflicted with vertigo have every reason to look to the fashion industry for representation, too and seeing a beautiful and outspoken advocate for body positivity (in all forms, we might add) like Winnie Harlow is definitely inspiring!

6. Clémentine Desseaux

Clémentine Desseaux is well known for several things. One being that she is the co-founder of the advocacy campaign @allwomenproject, a project which seeks to spread body confidence, positivity, and representation but before that she became well known as the first plus sized girl on TV in France. Fueled with that fame, Clémentine has really made something incredible with the @allwomenproject. The campaign is absolutely dedicated to showing untouched photos of women of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Most importantly though, they organize events and workshops with school-age girls to promote their inclusive message early on and that's a powerful place to make an impact. 

Just how passionate is this fascinating and empowering model? Just read the caption to the above photo:

What a fresh morning 🍑 looks like, before spray tan, lypo, photoshop, face-tune and other BS medias and "influencers" are serving us. Yes, I have micro pimples on my butt, no I don't shave every damn day, and yes I have cellulite! I am happy to dare to show it just like it is so all the other real Girls out there can feel Great just being themselves, raw, not perfect...

7. Shay Neary

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With her rescue pitbull, Pumpkin, by her side, Shay Neary is a powerhouse of body positivity in the modeling industry and fashion world. She's breaking barriers, busting down walls, and not backing down. 

Shay's major notoriety comes from her breakthrough in 2016 as "the first non-straight-size transgender model to be featured in a clothing campaign." Seriously, she's breaking barriers! She's taken her message and spread some serious body positivity on Instagram and the rest of the Internet and she's a shining example of what this world needs to be empowered by their diversity. We absolutely LOVE her photos and cannot get enough of them!

She's always struggled to find happiness... She's looked for in in others, searched for it in darkness, and had always chosen more difficult routes in hope of an eventual discovery. Never realizing how full of light she was. How her spirit never gave up on her. Her body was at constant battle with her mind. She struggled to find balance and to love herself. A close friend once told me: "What other people think of you, is none of your business." It stuck with me. I create my own happiness, no one else. I keep it in mind when I'm feeling insecure or down. I remind myself how much love and joy I bring to the world, and I let go. Don't let anyone or anything define you; but yourself. Just live, share your experience, and watch how many people you influence without knowing you did to begin with. #bopo #bigboldbeautifulyou #fat #girlslikeus #trans #transisbeautiful #selflove #selfworth #beyourself #happiness

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8. Imogen, The Feeding of the Fox

Imogen is an advocate that really raises the bar on advocacy. Her Instagram account is a powerful and inspiring force to be reckoned with and her deeply personal journey will simply touch your soul.

Her Instagram bio is a great place to start:

A disabled woman’s journey through weight-loss, eating disorders and into self love, self acceptance and body positivity.

But if that doesn't sell to you just how powerful her voice is, the caption to the first photo we shared will shake your soul to its core:

As a disabled woman, it has always been implied I'm not sexy. I didn't receive appropriate sex education at school because it wasn't considered necessary for people like me. I was unable to access sexual health screening due to stairs, lack of hoisting equipment and dreadful assumptions that disabled people wouldn't need to access such treatment in the first place. When I was out in clubs as a teenager, I wasn't flirted with, bought drinks or taken to the toilets for a quickie. Rather I was congratulated for being out of the house and joked with about 'drink driving' my wheelchair. Lusting after a disabled person is considered a fetish, we're objectified by people who want to watch our unusual walking styles or see us putting on splints. Those who do find us sexually attractive are reluctant to pursue us because it is considered to reflect a dark and perverted side of themselves, not to mention the anxieties of being berated by friends for dating a cripple or families not accepting partners with impairments. Images of disabled women in the media sell us as strong and brave, even inspirational, but never sexy.Many women who post images like I do experience an onslaught of messages from men objectifying them, frustrated that they are constantly over-sexualised, unable to talk about their body without sex being involved. However, just like beauty standards, when it comes to the representation of disabled people, we are just left out of the conversation entirely.My body may be different, but you won't hurt me and I won't break. My sexuality is mine to express. My body is mine to do with what I choose. My desires are the same as those of many non disabled women. We want to be enjoyed, our bodies desired and fantasised about. #disabledandproud

I spent so many years separated from my body. Or at least trying to be. Months in hospital, being moved from a ward for my lungs to a ward for my stomach, it was easy to pick my body apart and blame it for the difficulty I had finding who I am. Part of my journey through therapy, that in turn started my last restrictive eating phase, was attempting to pull together. It almost makes sense then, that my focus dipped somehow and became ALL about my body. Being healthy, being thin, being active, and in turn being beautiful. What I'm coming to realise in these months of working to find equilibrium, is that whilst I absolutely need to be connected to by body & do my best to care for it, what makes me me - and in turn 'beautiful' in a meaningful way (rather than the 'pretty' beautiful, described by @themilitantbaker) is so much deeper. My beauty comes from my intelligence, it comes from my spirit, my whit. It comes from a place so deep that I wonder if I had to hit 'rock bottom' in order to find it. Surface level (pretty) beauty just doesn't interest me in the same way because in finding something so much deeper, I've found a richness and a quality to myself that is vastly more authentic and realistic. It's obtainable because I always possess these things and it's sustainable because I'm always developing these things. Making those connections are powerful, confidence building and empowering, and I think that just makes whatever this light we hold within us even brighter.

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9. Fran Hayden

Existing as a fat woman in a thin society is often an incredibly hard thing to navigate. As many fellow fat babes know, there are things that we unconsciously do that are ingrained into us. • Sitting with a cushion in front of our tummies • Stressing about how much we are eating in public • Dealing with the anxiety of going to the back of a clothes rail for our size • Constantly dodging the diet culture & gym talk that surrounds us Sound familiar? Thought so! Many of my slimmer BoPo warriors often post pictures of their gorgeously squishy tummy pooches on social media 💗 I'm looking at you @nourishandeat @omgkenzieee & @my_life_without_ana 💗 but I just wanted to highlight this for my fat sisters. When we sit, our rolls and squish are already there, they are pre-existing, even when we stand up. It has taken me a long time to sit undeterred by the fact that my muffin top might be on show, and an even longer time to not automatically reach for a trusty cushion or pillow. So here's to us, plus-size babes and gents - know that you can SIT DOWN without feeling the need to COVER UP. • Your tummy moves • Your tummy squishes • Your tummy rolls • Your tummy flexes and folds • Your tummy deserves all the love in the world 💗💗💗

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Fran Hayden is a body positivity activist and blogger whose voice packs a powerful punch. Genuinely, her confidence and self-love is infectious. Her light radiates outward and engulfs all who dare approach and her advocacy is something the body positivty universe needs! 

Fran is an official ambassador for "Body Confidence Revolution" and she has reached millions since being interviewed with the BBC and having articles featured on "The Independent" and "Huffington Post."

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10. Jessamyn Stanley

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Is there anything Jessamyn Stanley can't do? She's a writer, body positivity advocate, and skilled yoga instructor... so I'd say the sky is not even the limit for this incredible woman. Her yoga class places a strong emphasis on celebrating your body, all bodies, and focuses on feeling good from the inside outward. 

There's already been tons of buzz about her first published book and her Instagram account is an ever-present source of positivity. We could all use more Jessamyn in our lives!

#partner The day I came out to my parents was far from a Hallmark moment. To be frank, I was scared out of my mind. My mom cried for what felt like the entirety of forever. And even though it was a relief to finally be honest with her, it was equally awful to hear my own mother talk about how sad my identity made her. Needless to say, it wasn't our best day. The climate for the LGBTQIA community has changed a lot since I came out, but we still have a long way to go. And for far too many of us, a weeping parent is the golden ticket of coming out stories considering that abuse, neglect, and tragedy are much more common themes. At this point, the work of organizations like @pflagnational is more important than ever and this Pride month, I’m proud to partner with @Motrin and #JnJ to support @pflagnational- join now by uploading your photo through the @donateaphoto app and showing your support on social using #CarewithPride!

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Stereotypical girly pics are all over Instagram, you see them where ever you go and sadly they're very popular and they get tons of likes. These guys created an Instagram account dedicated for imitating stereotypical girly pics, and every single one of these pictures is perfect and spot on!

Elana