Body Positive Social Media Star Exposes the Truth About Posed Lingerie Photos, Stomach Rolls and All

From Redbook

By now, it’s obvious that society has a problem with force-feeding women unrealistic expectations of what their body should look like – dozens of celebrities clapping back at being photoshopped beyond recognition have made that much clear.

But despite the fact that there’s now at least some awareness that what people see on the page or screen might not actually be what someone looks like (or even a semi-close approximation of it) in real life, image manipulation still happens – and often. So, one body positive Instagrammer took a moment to expose the reality behind staged photo shoots and to celebrate her natural body.

In a side-by-side comparison, Megan Jayne Crabbe (AKA @bodyposipanda) shared photos of herself wearing the same lingerie set. The photo on the left is clearly a professional-quality photo, with optimal body posing and Crabbe’s hair and makeup done to perfection. The photo on the right is a realistic version of Crabbe, with her body relaxed, face make-up free, and stomach rolls and cellulite proudly displayed.

Crabbe ranted against the fact that the idealized image on the left is what women compare themselves to constantly, calling it “a posed, polished, perfectly lit snapshot of the highlight reel.” The social media star, who once suffered from anorexia before recovering and embracing body positivity, explained that Curvy Kate, the plus-size lingerie and swimwear brand behind the shoot, had taken the “typically ‘flattering’ lingerie posing” pictures but specifically asked her to go home and recreate the photos in a realistic manner. The rest of the side-by-side comparisons from Crabbe’s shoot can be seen in Curvy Kate’s blog post.

The model’s point in highlighting the unrealistic nature of posed lingerie shoots was to make women aware that there’s a lot of staging that goes into looking “flawless” while nearly naked, and to encourage every woman to celebrate their body in its natural state.

“Our bodies are glorious from every angle. Posed or unposed. Polished or not,” Crabbe wrote. “And we sure as hell don’t need to compare ourselves to anybody’s highlight reel – after all, the model in the magazine doesn’t even look like the model in the magazine most of the time.”

With this very necessary post, Crabbe joins the legion of celebrities who have proudly displayed their so-called body imperfections, as well as other Instagram fitness stars of all sizes (like Anna Victoria) who have broken down the truth behind posed-versus-unposed images.

More of this realness, please.

(h/t People)

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