Stephanie Barnes
Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, but you wouldn’t know that based on mainstream media. For years, movies, magazines, and television have pushed the narrative that women have to be a certain size to be considered beautiful. But that’s just not true. And more and more body-positivity influencers are trying to change that damaging narrative.
One of those influencers is Sara Puhto, a 25-year-old from Finland, who has been reminding people what real bodies look like, according to Bored Panda.
Puhto has been posting side-by-side photos of herself in different poses for a series called “Instagram Vs Reality”. Each post has two photos snapped moments apart with minor adjustments. In one shot, Puhto appears in a natural pose while the other shows her using camera angles and “sucking in” to give off a more toned appearance.
The work Puhto is doing is extremely important. It not only challenges outdated beauty standards, but also shows that not everything is as it seems online.
While chatting with Bored Panda, Puhto explained how she went from running a fitness account to creating more body-positive content.
“I used to be a fitness content creator in 2015/2016, so I was posting photos of my ‘fitness progress’. Those curated photos that I talk about on my page now, so it was scary for me at first when I had that realization that I was adding to the falsities on Instagram,” she said.
Puhto said she realized even though she was a fitness blogger, she was still insecure about her body.
“I realized that the photos that I was posting may have been making other people feel like this,” she told Insider.
As her following grew, Puhto became known for her “Instagram Vs Reality” series. The series shows how minor body tweaks can create a drastically different look on camera.
“[The series] was received very well by others and I got a lot of positive reactions and support towards it,” she continued.
“I feel that the reaction continues to be the same, even though I’ve been doing this for years, I continue to receive positive feedback about it, mostly.”
But it’s not just about weight or size. Puhto wants us to be more gentle with ourselves.
She constantly highlights the important of positive self-talk.
