Scrolling through Instagram, I’m sure you’ve come across posts that you would consider #fitspo. Maybe it’s a photo of a girl on the beach or at the gym, or a mirror selfie where she’s showing off her toned body.
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of how you look but sometimes what we see on social media isn’t the full story. People only show the good parts and same goes for our bodies. However, more and more people are also starting to share the side we don’t see.
On Instagram women are posting side by side photos of a flexed and relaxed version of the same photo. When they flex and pose, you can see their muscles pop but that’s not what they look like on a regular basis. When their bodies are relaxed, they have rolls too and that’s fine.
Australian YouTuber Kasey Rayton shared her version and opened up about how this should be talked about more. “The reason I’m sharing this is because it’s so important to realize you guys only see a small snippet of what we choose to share with you.” She went on to say that photos like this shouldn’t make us feel bad. “Don’t let Instagram photos discourage you. Let them inspire you. Instead of thinking about how you want your body to look, think about what you want your body to do.”
Personal trainer Anna Victoria wanted to share her own photos as well. “Me 1% of the time vs. 99% of the time. And I love both photos equally.” In her caption she also talked about the “flaws” we see in our bodies. “I recently came across an article talking about how one woman stated she refuses to accept her flaws, because she doesn’t see them as flaws at all. I LOVED that because it sends such a powerful message that our belly rolls, cellulite, stretch marks are nothing to apologize for, to be ashamed of, or to be obsessed with getting rid of!”
And, she has a point, they both do. Similar to what I said in my body positivity essay, we shouldn’t just focus on what we look like. We should give more importance to what our bodies can do and how we feel.
Of course, many of us can’t help but feel pressured when we see “perfect” body photos on Instagram but we have to remind ourselves that no one really looks like that. There’s more to the story.
Finnish YouTuber Sara Puhto has posted many of these photos to Instagram show the two sides of a photo. Her posts show how her body really looks like without editing or posing. She even got real about body hair. “I’m guilty of editing out armpit hair in old photos or not posting certain photos because my armpit hair or other body hair is showing in them!” However, eventually she learned not to care about what other people would comment. “Who has the right to tell another person to shave?”
If you’re like me and these posts get you down, hopefully this will show you that the photos we see aren’t always as they seem. And, we shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to anyone in the first place. Take some time to focus on yourself instead of someone else.
Art by Marian Hukom
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