Stephanie Barnes
It’s no secret that society has contributed to women and girls feeling insecure about the way they look. We’ve been conditioned to believe that women can only be beautiful if they’re thin, hairless, and wearing a full face of makeup. It also doesn’t help that some of the most popular celebrities and influencers continue to post “picture perfect” shots of themselves that are heavily edited.
Luckily, there are people out there looking to shift this way of thinking, and Joanna Kenny is one of them.
Kenny is a body-positive 31-year-old who has been using Instagram to encourage other women. Over the years, she has shared countless photos and videos of herself in her most natural form. And with every post, she hopes to inspire other women to accept their natural beauty.
Kenny is passionate about dismantling the filter culture. The British esthetician has created a movement, #poresnotflaws, which she uses to encourage women to share selfies without beauty filters.
“What’s becoming more frequent is people’s desire to achieve the same poreless skin as their social media filter. This warped perspective of what skin should look like creates unobtainable skincare goals, and any real progress is overlooked,” she told Bright Side.
Kenny is also tired of society policing female body hair, and believes it should stop.
The esthetician recently went viral when she posted a photo highlighting her growing mustache. Women rocking facial hair has always been frowned upon, but Kenny isn’t here for the unrealistic expectations.
“Me highlighting my mustache hair is not me say, Hey, you SHOULD find this attractive. Instead, it is serving as a reminder that they don’t HAVE to remove their facial hair to be seen as feminine,” she captioned the viral shot.
In another of her Instagram posts, the influencer pointed out that every woman goes through different things and we shouldn’t judge others based on their appearance.
“There are people who have a hormonal imbalance or have to take medication that makes their grow excessively. And right now, they can’t keep up with the societal pressure to remove or bleach every single to fit in,” she wrote.
So far, Kenny’s efforts have been met with overwhelming support. Many women have applauded Kenny for her openness and thanked her for her ongoing encouragement.
Of course, there have also been some negative comments, but Kenny has responded with nothing but grace.