Strong confident woman. (iStock)
Plus-size model Iskra Lawrence is known for being a body confidence crusader online, and with a new viral Instagram post, she’s taking another step toward solidifying her name in that role.
In the post, which has garnered over 68,000 likes within the single day it’s been shared, 26-year-old Lawrence shares two old photos of herself in which she’s wearing white lingerie, and in the caption she slams the practice of Photoshopping in favor of authenticity and self-love.
“The full thick hair - extensions. Push up bra. Waist + legs + arms slimmed with a photoshop (sic) tool,” size 14 Lawrence writes, rattling off all of the elements that make the six- to seven-year-old photos look artificial. “No eye bags, well actually no nothing that makes me resemble the real me.
“I thought if I had 'perfected' images (like the ones I saw of other models) that I would book more jobs = would make me happy and successful,” she continues. “When in reality seeing retouched images of myself gave me even more insecurities and body image issues because I couldn't even look like or relate to the image of myself!”
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To inspire body confidence among young women, Lawrence goes on to urge against comparing yourself to others because, as she writes, “Perfect does NOT exist.”
On her personal Instagram, Lawrence shares loads of other unretouched photos, some from her #AerieReal campaign with American Eagle, and even selfies from her home.
In a viral Aug. 9, 2016 post, Lawrence shares a pair of side-by-side images that show just how easy it is to Photoshop yourself to “perfection.”
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“I wanted to post the unretouched pic right next to the retouched one so you could see the impact of how a few edits all done on my phone can completely change the way someone looks,” she writes in the August 2016 post. “I can't leave home everyday retouched & live in the ‘real world’ airbrushed so why would I want to pretend to be online? we are beautiful because we are us and we are so much more than our appearance.”
She ends the current viral post with a similarly inspiring sentiment for her followers.
“What’s real is YOU, your imperfectly perfect self,” she writes. “That's what makes you magical, unique and beautiful.”
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