A teen reached out to the Instagram fitness star to say that her posts are the only ones that make her feel good about herself.
Anna Victoria is one of many Instagram fitness stars who constantly share pictures of their seemingly perfect, toned, and sculpted figures. While these kinds of images may leave most of us in awe, they can also perpetuate an ideal standard of beauty that is unrealistic for most women.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that a teenager recently reached out to Victoria with a very personal confession, telling the Instagram star that seeing flawless images constantly flood her social media feed has made her question her own body. Her refreshingly honest message resonated with Victoria, who has often tried to argue that the idealism behind the "perfect body" is utter nonsense. As a response, Victoria says she was inspired to post a no-makeup selfie with her natural hair, wearing nothing special to prove a very important point.
"I'm not sharing this because I think I look bad, or because tummy rolls are bad, or because cellulite, messy hair, or no makeup is bad. None of those things are bad or imperfect. They are NORMAL," she wrote in the caption. "The impact social media has on young girls and their self-esteem is an issue I feel very strongly about, and if me posting one casual, non-posing, non-done-up photo can help a young girl (or man, or anyone of any age!) feel better about themselves, then I'm happy to put myself out there."
She then spoke to the importance of the need for social media influencers to present a more accurate impression of themselves to become more relatable and more importantly, to promote self-love.
"We need more girls who are wildly confident and loving every bit of themselves and shouting it from the rooftops. Show young girls it's not only okay, but necessary to be confident, strong young women, 'flaws,' and all," she wrote. "Love your body at every angle and don't ever be ashamed of being human, of struggling, or hey, even of loving the crap out of yourself!"
Now that's something we can all get behind.
