While there are plenty of
Instagram models and social media influencers out there making money from their image, some of them take a different approach to how they discuss beauty. With the platform to reach thousands of people, they can speak to societal
standards of beauty and their own problems and insecurities, letting people know that there are
alternate perspectives on these issues.
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One such person is Karina Irby, a swimwear model and fitness blogger. In a recent post, she chose to highlight her cellulite and eczema - both things that plenty of people in the world have and yet are often seen as "imperfections". In a shot of her on the beach, she used the caption of the Instagram post to talk about her problems and her desire to change the way people think about them.
"One of my goals this year is to create normality to a few seriously common things people world wide are dealing with day to day," she wrote. "For me this is eczema and cellulite".
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She noted that she finds it difficult to speak up about this, especially on such a public forum, but felt the need to "share this image showing off my angry skin and cellulite" to increase awareness that it's a normal thing to go through. She continued:
"I want to help love and support other angry skin suffers that are covering up, feeling self conscious and even being bullied that they’re not alone.
"I’ve been there, and I’m still dealing and accepting my skin every single day. Lately I’ve been receiving a lot of DM’s from eczema suffers all around the world giving me their personal advice and even saying thank you for sharing. Instead of the DM’s please comment below your questions, advice or anything you like that may help another in need. And more importantly, to prove to someone else that eczema is common, and they’re alone and shouldn’t feel uncomfortable and singled out."
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"When I was a teenager I felt so alienated, unhappy and self conscious. I felt so alone and that no one knew what I had to deal with every day. Little did I know I had an entire community behind me, I just needed time to grow and realise it. So for all those young people out there that may be feeling the same... I got you’re [sic] back".
Irby, who has championed weight-lifting regimes rather than a limited cardio focus, has brought up similar issues in the past. In September last year, she shared a side-by-side image of herself before and after editing, to show her followers how models' photos are often edited to remove any supposedly unflattering features on their bodies.
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"The truth is these girls don't looks [sic] like this," Irby wrote. "They look like you, like everyone."
Regardless of how others see you, things such as eczema and cellulite can greatly affect your self-image. Hopefully, with people like Karina Irby, we can move away from seeing these conditions as imperfections.
