Why Instagram Should Not Define Your Self-Esteem

Growing up, we are all conditioned to idealise a super skinny figure. Even Kim Kardashian, once famous for her full, curvy body, endorses appetite suppressants on her platform. When we shop for clothes we have an ideal size we want to be shopping for, and for most of us that ideal is far smaller than we will ever realistically be. It’s both damaging and quite frankly dangerous, and we all deserve better.

There is no question that Instagram can be detrimental to your self-esteem and mental health. The unachievable body types flooding your feed are inescapable. And when your explore page is repeatedly filled with the image of the ‘perfect body’, it’s not surprising that seeing these images can take their toll. 

One option – one that many women are forced to take – is to leave the platform altogether. But that means that they’re missing the positive effects that Instagram has the potential to have. There is now a huge Instagram community of women speaking up and sharing their own experiences with clothing sizes and the patriarchal pressures surrounding them.

The #iweigh (@i_weigh) movement has taken off in the last year. Jameela Jamil, an activist and actor, started the movement to empower women, and the response and community that has resulted is changing the face of Instagram. It encourages women to post a photograph that they like of themselves and caption it with their most important values, for example ‘mother,’ ‘animal rights activist,’ ‘university graduate,’ etc. Jamil has also been an outspoken critic of the Kardashians, who she says are toxic to young women, particularly Kim’s endorsement of dangerous ‘quick fix’ weight loss products. 

Most encouragingly, women’s voices are finally being heard and making a difference in industry. Women of all clothing sizes have reported having to buy clothing up to 4 sizes bigger in H&M than they would normally buy in other retailers, which is incredibly damaging for women’s mental health, especially if they already suffer with low self-esteem. An open letter was written on Facebook by Rebecca Parker back in March calling out H&M’s sizing and questioning how they could justify selling the ‘#GRLPOWER’ ethos embroidered on products whilst simultaneously selling clothes that ‘do the exact opposite.’ H&M recently proposed to change their UK womenswear sizes after years of receiving these complaints, a move that is long overdue. 

It’s not just on Instagram, though, and it doesn’t just affect women either. Everyone is vulnerable to having their worth determined by societal expectations on what size they should be. But it’s a movement that us as consumers are finally in control of – and we should all be part of it.

• body image
• celebrity
• instagram
• mental health
• self esteem
• social media