We have made commendable strides as a society toward a more accepting, warm attitude with regards to different body shapes, ideas and sexual preferences.
With that being said, though, we still have some distance left to travel. One need only flick through the comments on an Instagram post of a body-positive blogger or plus-size model to realise that many people still hold archaic, outmoded views on what people - particularly women - should look like.
In fact, Instagram has arguably exacerbated this divide; its filtered corridors eschew reality for a particular brand of glossy fiction that is as incongruous with everyday life as an alien landing in Times Square.
Yet on the body shamers plod, leaving a damaging legacy in their wake.
We are now confronted with images of what we 'should' look like - in reality impossible paradigms to which we might but haplessly aspire - more than at any other point in history. Whether on Instagram, on the glossy covers of fashion magazines or on huge billboards in the cities we live in, it is essentially impractical to avoid such paragons of beauty.
Some people are pushing back against the tide, though. Body positive bloggers and plus-size models are starting a movement on Instagram that aims to point out the unreality of impossibly perfect images. Fitness bloggers might post a side-by-side account of how such pictures are achieved, reminding us that reality is rarely so unblemished.
Diana Sirokai, a plus-size model, has her own method of achieving the same ends. She has been brilliantly recreating photographs of celebrities to promote a body positive message.
Oh, and her photos are absolutely stunning, too.
But I digress; Sirokai has been emulating the looks of famous celebs with her own fierce style, and here are the results. First up, Gigi Hadid:
And then she took on the Queen of Instagram herself, Kim Kardashian:
Credit: InstagramTwice!
Credit: Instagram
Women should feel comfortable enough in their own skin to post whatever they like on their own Instagram pages; hopefully Sirokai's efforts are helping to promote body positivity and loving oneself no matter what others might say. Keep on slaying!
Women should feel comfortable enough in their own skin to post whatever they like on their own Instagram pages; hopefully Sirokai's efforts are helping to promote body positivity and loving oneself no matter what others might say. Keep on slaying!