As the body positivity movement continues to grow, more influencers and celebrities are opening up and showing off their real bodies.
One blogger in particular is now receiving praise just a year after being criticized online for a very similar topic.
The blogger in question is Joanne Larby A.K.A. @makeupfairypro on Instagram.
According to her website , Joanne wears many hats besides being one of Ireland’s biggest bloggers.
she’s also a make-up artist, model, stylist, teacher, presenters, public speakers and influencer.
She’s also a model.
Standing at 5 foot 10 inches and wearing a size 10, Joanne represents curvy figures in the modeling industry.
She’s racked up over 150K followers on Instagram and was even voted as the top curvy girl in the world to follow by Vogue Italia .
Things haven’t always been smooth sailing on Joanne’s journey.
Back in 2018, the blogger was called out by fans for photoshopping her photos to make herself look skinnier.
Joanne was one of several Irish influencers who publicly fought back against bullying after a private Instagram account uploaded before and after photos of the bloggers’ edited images.
Larby later explained to followers that she was editing her photos because of low self-esteem and an emotionally abusive past relationship.
As a result, Joanne ended up taking a short break from social media and later returned with an unedited photo and a new perspective.
In a lengthy Instagram caption, Joanne said the following, “As many of you are aware I’ve been offline for the past couple of weeks. During this time I’ve had the chance to reflect on the whole scenario and I’ve asked myself what I did to deserve what happened. In terms of the hate campaign that ensued the answer is nothing, purely because receiving messages from strangers telling me they hope I kill myself or end up on the dole and involving my family is not acceptable. HOWEVER did I deserve to be called out on certain things? 100%. I’ve actually been really humbled by this whole experience and gained a huge amount of knowledge. I hold my hands up to making mistakes, I have plenty of flaws, I’m human and I’m always learning. “
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Since then, the model has changed up her Instagram timeline in favor something a little more authentic.
Joanne posted this photo of her ‘dimpled’ behind and accompanied it with the caption, ” A gentle reminder; not every pose is flattering and I have dimples on my bum. That I’m STILL tempted to smooth them out with a simple phone app. Sometimes I can’t be bothered to wash my hair or iron my sheets. We are all on a unique journey of self love and there’s no last stop #theothersideofperfect”
Amen to that.
Joanne has since received a flood of online support for her new unfiltered photos.
“I’m loving all your honest content at the moment. You look amazing,” commented one user on Instagram.
“Love this post, I had a not so happy in my body moment recently, but seen you embrace your body and show it off your realness and true beauty, inspires me to love mine too,” replied another.
On the flip side of things, Joanne has also been on the receiving end of some hate for the very same reason.
A few followers have complained that it’s disingenuous for Joanne to now be a face for body positivity after she was known to photoshop her pictures in the past.
“All of a sudden you’re trying to blog with integrity after scamming and bulls—-ing people for so long,” read one comment.
Another commented, “Like, it’s great your are been ‘normal’ but your not fooling most your followers.”
Either way, the hate doesn’t seem to be stopping this blogger.
Joanne continues to share photos of her real, unedited photos on her timeline and has since dedicated most of her content to celebrating body positivity.
After all, people are allowed to change. And if they’re changing for the better then and helping others in the process, then that’s what I would call a glo up.
