As I’m sure we are all aware, social media has taken over the world. Although I hate to admit it, I start and finish my day by scrolling through social media. While it’s fun and all, there is no doubt that social media doesn’t always leave me feeling joyful. The comparison trap is one of the most popular yet unfortunate things that is attached to social media. One thing that is frustratingly common is comparing your physical appearance to someone else’s. It can be hard to remember that you’re supposed to embrace who you are, not embrace playing the part of someone else. Because social media probably isn’t going to disappear anytime soon, I think it’s important that we find people who inspire and encourage us, even if it’s through a screen. People that preach self-love and acceptance, body positivity, etc., are the best because it can be hard to preach these things to yourself sometimes; having someone else remind me of it is something I personally find motivating. So, I figured it would be a good idea to share some of my favorite female social media influencers that stand for all things good and positive.
1. Whitney Simmons
Whitney Simmons has an Instagram page (@/whitneyysimmons) and a Youtube Channel (Whitney Simmons) where she posts content. She has a lively, positive energy and starts nearly every one of her videos by saying “it’s a beautiful day to be alive.” She mostly posts about health and fitness but does it in a way that encourages others without making it seem like everyone has to follow exactly what she is doing. Her videos are very entertaining to watch because of her upbeat attitude and she is a great person to follow if you are looking for fun workouts and lifestyle posts.
2. Mik Zazon
Mik is one of my favorite social media influencers that constantly preaches body confidence/positivity. On her Instagram (@/mikzazon), she posts plenty of photos of herself, many of which include inspiring captions about accepting yourself. Some of her photos are in workout clothes, bikinis, or undergarments that show her “real,” unposed body, accompanied by captions about how she has learned to love her imperfections, how she is healing from her past that was filled with mental health issues and self-depreciation, etc. Each one of her posts puts a smile on my face and encourages me to feel more comfortable with myself.
3. Natacha Oceane
Natacha is the definition of a (physically) strong woman. Like Whitney, she posts about aspects of health and fitness on her Instagram (@/natacha.oceane), and on her YouTube channel (Natacha Oceane.) Her Instagram posts consist of a lot of her workouts, and at first, I was surprised at some of the hard moves that she made look so easy. You can tell she pushes herself in the best way, which motivates me to do the same. Her YouTube videos will definitely make you smile because she is extremely energetic and has an evident love for life. She is the perfect person to watch, especially right now with everything that is going on, to lift your spirits.
4. Rini Frey
Rini (@ownitbabe on Instagram) is another person who posts about body acceptance. She also talks about topics such as weight gain, establishing a healthy relationship with food, and other topics related to those things. She also posts unedited pictures of her body in natural poses that portray her “rolls,” cellulite, etc. She reinforces that those things are 100% natural and she encourages people to love and cherish the body that they have. I genuinely enjoy seeing her posts because I admire what she stands for and always feel more loving towards myself after seeing one of her posts.
The point of this article is not to say that we need to rely on others to make ourselves feel better. It’s crucial that we have the power to be there for ourselves, of course. However, as I said at the beginning of this article, social media is going to be around for a long time, and it’s not always the most pleasant and there are definitely a lot of things that we see that, for whatever reason, don’t leave us feeling super smiley. That’s why I think it’s important to find ways to make social media a better place to be scrolling through. It’s important to ensure that social media isn’t harming you more than it’s helping you, and these are just a few people that preach lots of the things that we need to be reminded of from time to time, and whose posts or videos can make you feel a little bit more happy and positive and cheerful.