In an era that appears to be dominated by Instagram ‘influencers’ posing in branded bikini’s and advertising the various new up and coming ‘detox’ and weight loss products, it poses the question whether there is room left on the social media platform for body positivity and ultimately the idea of self-love.
Alison Rachel’s Instagram page ‘Recipes for Self-Love’ appears to tackle this problem. The South African artist aims to tackle the issues of feminism, identity and the lack of self-care women practice through the illustrations posted on her page. The posts show intersectional and inclusive illustrations of women and includes short quotes and messages of how women should care, respect and look after themselves. Ranging from simple uplifting messages such as ‘You are important’, to ‘It’s ok to say no’ and ‘Support women with eating disorders’, Rachel does not fall to the stigma of sexual violence culture, fat shaming or mental health issues. She instead empowers the women that battle with these issues, and her work is bold and confident in each and every one of her messages.
While scrolling through the page, one post I found extremely interesting, was the message ‘Someone else’s beauty is not in absence of your own’. Personally, I think this message should be plastered upon every opening of the Instagram app, as a message to those young boys and girls who will continue onto the site comparing themselves to images of their favourite influencers. Social media is a world of Photoshop and re-touched images, full of influential celebrities, bloggers and Instagram stars who, although not in all cases, show off a perfect life style and a perfect body. Therefore, there is such value in the “Recipes for Self-Love’ page, and others that portray similar messages, as it shows a fight back to a self-deprecating and comparative online world many of us have become accustomed to.
The page is extremely inclusive to those of different cultures, religions, sexual orientation and fights the stigma that women face in every way possible. The sheer simplicity of Rachel’s work portrays such confident messages and reaches out on taboo issues that are shockingly still not normalised today. One memorable post is that of an illustration of a woman with body and facial hair, with the message alongside reading ‘Body hair is natural’. The post instantly appeared to me as bold, because unlike the content I regularly scroll through on Instagram, it appeared real. It struck a chord with me and made me question. Why was I wishing that I had the figure of a Victoria Secret model when my body is equally valid and beautiful? Why was I comparing my hair and skin to women who have professional photographs taken of them every day? Why was I even slightly bothered when someone posted what I believed to be an unflattering picture of myself? Alison’s Instagram page had sucked me in and thrown me back out into a world of realisation – one of self-love, self-care, and self-identity.