Everyone likes to look their best for a photo opportunity, right?
Nobody wants a picture taken in which they are not comfortable with so it makes sense that as a society we tend to use filters and things to enhance our look in the image.
A U.K. based mother named Tova Leigh wanted the world to know that looking great did not have to mean returning to the 17th century by saying that corsets are a thing of the past and should remain that way.
The picture and post about body image went viral, garnering a lot of support across the internet.
Read the full, empowering statement for yourself:
I keep seeing ads for corsets everywhere. You know, the ones that suck your belly in and make your waist look tiny while also giving you constipation.
Well, let me tell you something: Last time I wore any type of corset was on my wedding day, exactly 8 years ago. I remember hiding behind a massive bush in the garden, and my mom loosening the damn thing cos I could barely breathe.
Sure, after that my boobs didn’t look as fab as they did when the day started, but I was actually able to eat the food I had paid for and do another amazing thing – it’s called sitting down. So unless It is officially the 17th century again, I’d like to ask whoever came up with the idea that women in 2017 need to look like Jessica Rabbit, to kindly shove their corsets up their ass and let me enjoy my mom tum in peace.
♡♡♡ #BodyImage #moms #mums #motherhood #MomLife #parenting #parents #reallife #family #love #bodyshaming #fuckbodygoals
The picture Tova had taken of herself certainly showed off her good looks, but the mother of three felt guilty about the number of filters she used to show herself in the best light and decided to show off what actually goes into making these selfies.
She did so with a behind the scenes picture of how the original picture was taken.
This picture was accompanied by another empowering statement.
Last week I shared the “perfect” selfie on Instagram (see the small image on the bottom left).
It got a whole lot of “likes”, friends told me I was sexy and I even made it my new profile picture on Facebook.
Today I am sharing the ‘behind the scenes’ of that image. How I actually looked when it was taken, without 20 attempts to get it right, without cropping out the bits I don’t like and without adding the ‘make me look pretty’ filter.
You see, over in the weekend I read an article about how more and more people are feeling depressed and insecure because of all the images of “perfect” looking people on social media, which they perceive to be real.
Well let me tell you something: THIS IS REAL. In all my mum-tum, cellulitis, granny pants and absolutely zero thigh gap glory! Not the perfect sexy body by some dictated standard, but imperfectly fabulous because it is real and it is mine.
So next time you see a “perfect” image on IG or FB that makes you feel bad, remember this: Social media is full of shit. You are beautiful just the way you are. And there is nothing sexier than being real. Tova ♡♡♡ #KeepingItReal #women #fuckbodygoals #BodyImage
Pictures on social media always tend to look very professional, and part of the reason for that is the multitude of filters that are readily available to improve the look of the subject.
Tova found this information out in an article which also said that these images could make people feel depressed as they think of their imperfections.
Tova opened up to Huffington Post about what made her take the pictures and why she felt it was important.
“They’re obviously still not on social media, and I sometimes worry about when they will be,” she explained.
“As somebody who uses social media quite a bit for my work, I am well aware of how misleading it can be, and at the age of 41 I take things with a pinch of salt as I know that what I see is not always reality. “
“In reality, I was standing in my underwear in my bathroom facing a window, so I had really good light,” she recalled. “I had a mirror in front of me, and I must’ve tried at least 20 times before I got the perfect shot.”
Tova then revealed that she felt like she was a fraud after all the likes on the original image.
“It did not represent what that moment really looks like, so I decided to share the truth.”
Despite her apprehension at sharing an image, she is happy she did because of the outcry of support she has received from people around the world.
“We live in a world and a society that puts a lot of pressure on women, young girls teenagers, etc. to look a certain way,” she told HuffPost.
“We tend to share the good moments and the attractive bits about our lives which I guess is understandable, but at the same time is very misleading.”
She added, “If you look at social media you will see that 99 percent of images look perfect. But how does that even make sense? Life is not perfect. We are not perfect. And that was the point I was trying to get across: We’re not perfect but that is totally OK. Being real is far more powerful than being perfect.”
What do you think about all of this?
Sound off below!