It’s no secret that many social media influencers are masters at manipulating their photos to appear slimmer, more toned, and free of so-called imperfections like stretch marks and cellulite. But Iskra Lawrence is here to remind us that what you see on Instagram isn’t always real.
The Aerie model and social media star posted a series of powerful before-and-after photos on her Instagram page yesterday to “expose” the misleading tactics (think: super flattering poses, photo editing tools, expert lighting) used by influencers to portray only their best selves online.
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“I wanted to get super real and show u [sic] how drastically and instantly ppl [sic] can change how they look simply by posing,” she wrote.
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While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good in photos (“I myself still pose”), Lawrence explained that she hopes these images will encourage others to be more accepting of their own bodies. “[T]here’s nothing wrong with moving your body in ways you feel most comfortable or confident,” she says. “[B]ut let’s be honest and show the actual process.”
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This isn’t the first time Lawrence has encouraged people to embrace themselves, flaws and all. The 27-year-old model, who suffered from an eating disorder earlier in her career and is now a National Eating Disorders Association ambassador, has become famous for her body-positive posts. She recently joined the #BoycotTheBefore movement to raise awareness about how dramatic “before” photos can be harmful to someone recovering from an eating disorder, and has even PhotoShopped her own photos to make a point about how easy it is to do.
“[L]ife’s not perfect, social media lives aren’t [p]erfect, and neither are us or our bodies,” Lawrence says. “[W]e are all perfectly imperfect and 100 percent unique.”