We all know that, in the world of fashion, beauty and cosmetics, advertisers often try to impose an impossible standard upon women. Even professional models are made to feel as though they're always just that little bit inadequate, which can have a profoundly damaging effect upon their self-esteem.
This week, an Instagram model has responded to a number of clothing brands who claimed that she was too fat to be a model with an inspirational post.
Australian influencer Ariella Nyssa, aged 22, took to social media this week to share an image of her body, claiming that she'd been intentionally excluded from working with certain brands because of her stretch marks and voluptuous physique.
In an extended diatribe on her official Instagram account, the Syndey-based model captioned her post: "I’m honestly so angry so I wanted to have a little rant. I’m so over people, brands, agencies and social media telling me that my body isn’t good enough to fit their standards."
"I’ve been told that I’m too short, that my skin isn’t smooth enough, that I’m too big. I’ve been told my 'excessive skin' is too revealing and is classified as nudity when I literally see influencers and celebrities posting topless photos of themselves online. [sic]"
She continued: "I see beautiful plus size models and then models who are your standard size 6-8. I see beautiful influencers that all have the exact same body plastered all over my screens. Every time I try to push past these beauty standards I get shut down. I get pushed to the side or told that I’m not a “good fit” for the image of brands."
"No wonder there are so many mental health problems in this day and age, where girls are trying to feel beautiful and get completely ignored, rejected or told they are unwanted because of their 'flaws.' People constantly message me asking why I post the same thing in all of my photos and it’s because of THIS. [sic]"
Check out this video of an influencer crying about having to work a nine-to-five job:She added: "Because so much needs to change still. Because I, let alone so many of you, get put down seeing the same kind of 'beautiful' all over my social media accounts. BRANDS, AGENCIES, SOCIAL MEDIA.. stop feeding into this lie that everyone has to look the same. Stop feeding poor girls and women LIES that they have to lose 10kgs to be beautiful or use editing apps to retouch, smooth and reshape what they look like to get reposted or noticed. [sic]"
Alyssa now intends on sharing as many images as she can of her natural curves, stating: "I’ll be posting my favourite photoshoot Pictures of my 'excessive skin”, 'undesirable body type', 'boobs that are too big', 'love handles', 'back fat' and cellulite for your enjoyment and to say a big f u to the system. Just because I’m not a size 6 or a size 16 doesn’t mean I’m not beautiful ?? f*ck the system. [sic]"
It seems as though Alyssa's body-positive post has proven popular with social media users. Her latest un-airbrushed bikini pic managed to quickly attain over 23,500 likes, so it seems as though a more realistic standard of beauty is what people are clamouring for.
If you need more proof, then just check out this article we penned about the plus-sized model whose latest campaign for Gillette managed to spark plenty of debate about body diversity online.