When you see Kylie Jenner’s “perfect” body you think about how lucky she is to not have to worry about her body like us. But what if I told you that even people who have what seems like the most perfect body have body image issues too. Yes, I know it may seem obvious and that this is something that everyone knows. However, even though it may be a completely obvious fact, it’s a fact that our minds tend to forget when we compare ourselves to others.
It’s important to remember that you’re not alone when it comes to dealing with body image issues. Almost everyone in the world — male, female and non-binary — have their own body image issues. It’s okay to have these issues, but with that being said you can’t let them take over your mind and cloud your judgment. When we’re in the depths of comparing our body to someone else’s we may be lost in their Instagram photo and just keep thinking “how does she look like that?” or “why can’t my body be like that?” When we start spiraling with these thoughts our judgment becomes clouded. We forget to think realistically. We forget to remember that this person we’re idolizing is human just like us. They may look perfect in this photo, but in real life, they have rolls, cellulite, stretch marks and all the other “imperfections” that you are always so hard on yourself for. It’s important to remember that a photo is just a snapshot of someone at a good angle.
If you do this, it’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s just something that we as a society need to be aware of because when we desensitize ourselves, it worsens our own body image because we no longer remember the reality of the situation. The Instagram photo above is from my own account. In this photo, I cropped out the bottom part because the way I was sitting caused me to have some rolls. I thought that I looked cute in this photo, but I didn’t think my rolls were. This is just an example I wanted to show to prove that I’m guilty of this as well and that my body image also isn’t the greatest.
These various techniques of making your body look a certain way in photos are used by everyone, and especially by celebrities and influencers. This tells us that even these people whose bodies we envy have body image issues too. I want you to think to yourself “when was the last time you saw an untouched natural photo of your favourite celebrity?” The answer probably won’t come to your mind quickly. And that’s because even they don’t want people to see their rolls that they cropped out of their photo or they want to make sure that their body looks appealing and fits the current trends. This just proves that everyone has their own body image issues. And we post these perfect photos because we want people to see that we have the “perfect” body. We feel self-conscious to post our real bodies, as many of us do, no matter how famous you are.
The next time you find yourself comparing your body to someone else’s on Instagram, remember that the person who posted the picture is just like you. They stare at the photo a million times wondering if it’s the perfect one to post, they make sure that their tummy is flat while they’re posing and they also look at someone else’s photo fantasizing about having their body too. Always remember that the body image struggle is one that you’re never fighting alone.