Expectations versus reality has a new life under Chessie King.
See, she got tired of seeing influencers flex on everyone without disclosing how heavily edited their pictures were. So she decided to start a new project: Using her posts to show the reality behind those perfect pictures and helping everyone feel more comfortable in their own bodies.
Chessie is all about body positivity.
Helping everyone feel okay in their own bodies is the driving force behind her acccount.
“Hopefully I can help you speak kindly to your body. Hopefully you can see my body & relate to bits of it,” she wrote .
She’s been on a journey to love her own body.
And that comes with taking the veil off of Instagram-ready pictures and showing what our bodies really look like when we’re not posing for a camera.
“These photos were both taken today, they’re the same body,” she said.
She’s also a big goofball.
“Left: my friends fresh outta workout.
Right: me for the rest of the day unable to cool down without sitting in a freezer for hours,” she wrote.
I only ever look like the right, tbh.
One way Chessie has shared her body-positive message is by sharing her “deleted” photos on Instagram.
“You would never look at a picture of your best friend & think ‘yuk, she looks gross, I wish her tummy looked flatter’… so why would you say that about yourself?” Chessie wrote.
The idea is to show her followers that for every perfect pose you see on Instagram, there were probably a ton of shots that didn’t make the cut.
Influencers only post those images that create the illusion of perfection.
This jumpsuit can be worn all kinds of ways.
“Because I’d be lying if I just posted the left photo… unzipping my jumpsuit when I got home today was right up there with the feeling of taking my bra off at the end of the day,” she said.
That second picture is my inner self.
She wants her followers to remember that their value doesn’t come from their jean size or how much they weigh.
This is such a relief to see.
Sometimes, it’s hard to understand that angles and clothes hide a ton.
There’s a real body under illusions of perfection, and Chessie is all about embracing that for all of us.
This one is so funny.
“My tum tum’s trynaaaa look like my bum bum,” she wrote.
The first is when you arrive at a party, and the second is when you get home and finally get to relax.
Instagram in the front, reality in the back.
“I got sucked into all these traps when I was younger so now I want to protect you & give you permission to make best friends with your body,” she said.
This difference is striking.
Okay firstly, that pillow behind her is everything, and I want it.
Secondly, posts like this so perfectly highlight how much our bodies change with tiny shifts in how we move.
There’s nothing she wants more than to help you love yourself.
“What about defining yourself by a different kind of measurement instead of your weight or size? What about your heart, your soul, your compassion, your generosity, your strength, your love, your power?” she said.
She doesn’t tolerate hatred.
“I love the quote ‘What other people think about me, is none of my business,'” Chessie wrote on a post about cyberbullying and how people talk about her body.
I first heard that from RuPaul, so I’m gonna attribute that to him.
Lengthening your body changes your whole look.
And creates a silhouette that you might like, but isn’t realistic to keep up 24/7.
Also, I don’t know about you guys, but the trend of pulling your swimsuit up your butt to post a picture is so weird to me.
This sums everything up perfectly.
“It’s a deceiving place this whole instagram thing but I’m here to remind you daily that THE GIRL ON THE RIGHT EXISTS TWO SECONDS AFTER THE GIRL ON LEFT POSES,” she said.
In addition to sharing her “deleted” pics, Chessie also did an “Instagram versus reality” photo series.
Similar to her “deleted” pics, these side-by-side photos remind her followers that what they see on the ‘gram isn’t necessarily real life.
Posture and let’s be honest, facial expression, can change everything.
Remember that most photos on Instagram (yes, even those so-called “candid” shots) have been meticulously planned. Altering your stance or pulling a goofy face can change all that.
The bloat is real.
Wondering how influencers seem to have flat tummies all the time? Well… they don’t. They bloat just like the rest of us but use high-waisted leggings to hide it. Ohhhhhh.
All it took was a few quick edits to achieve the “ideal” body.
The difference is subtle, but Chessie managed to sculpt her body with a photo editing app in minutes. It goes to show that even natural-looking pics have likely been altered.
This has to be the oldest trick in the book, and it works.
A simple hand placement concealed Chessie’s waist in the first photo. It would have been impossible to tell if she hadn’t revealed the secret to us.
Seriously, influencers wear a lot of high-waisted pants.
This modern fashion staple has become especially popular with the Instagram generation because of the slimming effect it has in photos. Now we all know the secret!
Showing off “bumps, lumps, and the real stuff.”
Booty pics are an Instagram photo staple (for some reason), but we have to wonder, where is all the cellulite at? Well, the answer is rather simple.
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Everyone is just using a flattering dark filter to minimize the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks.
It’s been a few years since Chessie started sharing these eye-opening pictures.
Now she says she’s seen other people embrace this format and that it’s becoming more common to see photos that are real on the platform.
“When I first started using Instagram I never saw anything less than perfection on my newsfeed,” Chessie said in a post. The landscape of social media has changed in just a few short years and become more body positive.
