If there is one positive impact that Instagram has had on the world, it's the rise in body positivity. The picture sharing app, which has risen to be one of the most influential on the planet, has given birth to a wave of body positive influencers who teach their followers to love themselves and embrace their "flaws."
It would be fair to say that the rise of these influencers has seen the archaic western beauty ideals that we're used to be chipped away in favour of an all-encompassing and welcoming world. While there is still progress to be made, women like Mary Jelkovsky are doing all that they can to ensure they have a lasting impression on the world of body image.
The 20-year-old former personal trainer took to her Instagram to talk about "thigh gaps." After being left incensed by a workout specifically designed to get a thigh gap, Mary decided to talk about the concept and the unrealistic beauty standards that are often thrust on women.
Mary recently posted a photo with her “two-step method” for getting a thigh gap. The image is a side-by-side comparison, with two photos of her. The text on the image reads, “How to get a thigh gap: 1. Separate thighs. 2. Screw it. Love yoself.”
In the caption of the Instagram post, she explained: “Back when I was a personal trainer and a client would come to train with me, I’d ask them, 'What area(s) do you want to work on?' The answer became so predictable and redundant that I eventually stopped asking. Can you guess what it was? Yup, it was ALWAYS either tummy or thighs.
"Women from all walks of life would constantly use phrases like 'problem area' and 'my biggest insecurity' to describe their legs or midsection (or both)," Mary wrote.
"It was very sad to hear that a mother of 4 was too ashamed of her body to have sex with her husband or that a college girl didn’t want to go to a pool party until she lost 10 pounds.”
However, Mary also used the caption to explain that she dealt with the same insecurities herself, and that she had spent seven years of her life consumed by workouts and diets that followed the "thinspo" and "fitspo" blogs on the internet, calorie counting, and trying to achieve body standards that were personally unrealistic for her and other women like her.
After spending some time educating herself about the “hidden agenda” of diet culture, she quickly realised that the concept of having a thigh gap was pretty ridiculous. At the end of her post, she said, “You can waste time, energy, and money trying to get the gap or you can screw it and love yoself Who’s with me?!.”
While Mary isn't the only woman to address the issue of the "thigh gap" and other ridiculous beauty ideas, her message is loud, clear and hugely positive.