I don’t know who needs to hear this, but what you see on Instagram is NOT reality. Unless it’s cat memes — in that case, those perfectly portray what cats are really like.
In all seriousness, the thirst traps and body goals pictures that dominate Instagram are not real! No one’s body is perfect 100% of the time.
For Instagram influencer Danae Mercer, communicating that became her entire mission on social media.
Meet Danae!
She’s an influencer who is passionate about showing the world the true reality of Instagram. She’s vocal about eating disorders, goal weights, and other issues that face those of us on social media.
See?
Expectations vs reality is a real thing. For this post, she really wanted to highlight how different techniques can alter a picture. Notice how the light flatters the rounder curves and how posture can change a person’s look? That’s the whole illusion!
Those swimsuit shots are all about the way you pose.
Arching your back and toes smooths out any cellulite you might have, but the reality is that there’s nothing wrong with your cellulite! About 80% of women have it!
Our bodies seriously change throughout the day.
“Body acceptance tells us that even on our bad days — and we will have bad days, even Lizzo has bad days — we are still worth KINDNESS,” she wrote .
This video truly demonstrates how fake some things can be.
Danae totally has abs, but they’re not defined all the time! Defined abs are really hard to maintain 24/7. Instead, there’s a healthy layer of fat and skin over them, and that is okay!
She also talks about wearing clothes that you’re afraid of.
Like shorts, which so many of us fear, me included. I don’t want people to see my legs. But, as Danae says, it’s just another part of your body — why be afraid of that?
Embrace your rolls and bumps!
“PERFECTION is glittering and promising and the GOAL that so many of us have been taught we must pursue.
Only it’s a rigged game. No one wins when chasing perfection. Because PERFECTION doesn’t exist. It doesn’t. Not in bodies. Not in lives. Not in humans,” She wrote .
She also has a LOT of thoughts on diet culture.
And tbh, I agree with all of them.
“It’s so pervasive that it seems normal. We even see it NOW, when there is a PANDEMIC but somehow WEIGHT LOSS has become the focus.”
YUP!
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Oh, and FaceTune? It’s a lie, y’all.
Speaking of her eating disorder, Danae said she used the app after a relapse because she felt insecure. However, she doesn’t judge people who do use them. All she wants to do is educate others on what reality looks like.
Cellulite is just a fact of life.
Odds are, you have it! And that’s okay. Danae talks about how her journey to body positivity started with therapy in her 20s. She learned to find the beauty in her stretch marks.
And inclusivity is very important to her, too.
This is such an important message:
“If your feed and if your LIFE do not contain people who LOOK DIFFERENT than you or BELIEVE different things than you, you are NOT LEARNING.”
She perfectly demonstrates how carefully curated social media is.
For every post you see, there’s probably a hundred pictures that were rejected for not being perfect enough. That’s why Danae deliberately posts the ones that would be rejected! They’re her, they’re all her.
She loves to send messages through her photography and posing.
She often writes affirmations on her back, and they’re always words you really need to hear: “Your weight will fluctuate, your worth will not,” is a mantra worth repeating.
You can and should follow her on Instagram.
Her handle is @danaemercer , but she also does a lot more! She has a YouTube channel and writes for Cosmopolitan as well! And hey, while you’re busy loving her, don’t forget to love you, okay?
