In our increasingly digital world, it can be really hard to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not . People post edited pictures of themselves online all the time, and it’s really not healthy .
In fact, social media use is heavily linked to body image issues , and looking at edited images can give us a distorted sense of reality.
Most of us are guilty of light editing or using filters.
And you’ll see a lot of celebrities and influencers present a false image of themselves, too. So it’s actually really refreshing whenever you see a public figure fight back against that “idealized” image.
Bethenny Frankel recently called out the use of filters and editing.
Posted to her Instagram at the end of August, the Real Housewives of New York City star shared three images. The first and second are pictures of Frankel on a beach in a bikini.
The third shows the comparison between the two, making it obvious that the first had been edited.
The 51-year-old accompanied the post with a lengthy but important caption, condemning the use of filters in order to present a false image.
“This is NOT what I look like…and you know that bc I’m not vain and show you the real me.”
“But if I posted a version of this every day you might start to believe that it might be. This is just how distorted this has all gotten…”
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“Filtering is lying: it is deceptive. It makes women feel badly about themselves.”
“It makes young girls insecure and obsessed with an unattainable perfection. It makes middle aged women and mothers feel insecure about themselves,” her post continues.
“This creates a false ideal for men. It’s the opposite of inspirational.”
She concludes by saying, “It’s destructive. It’s irresponsible. It’s insecure and it’s inaccurate. There is a line between making an effort to look pretty and an outright falsehood.”
Frankel has been outspoken about diet culture and body image in the past.
In July, the star posted a TikTok in which she answered a common fan question: how does she stay so thin?
In her reply, she admits, “I don’t exercise. I do what I can when I can.”
She went on to say that she prioritizes sleep.
She believes that an over-reliance on exercise and diet does more harm than good.
“I believe in balance, I believe in sleep, I believe in living, I believe in French fries, I believe in alcohol, and I believe in not being crazy,” she continued.
Frankel is also the founder and CEO of the brand, Skinnygirl.
The brand specializes in lifestyle and health , providing products from salad dressing to shapeware, all in order to help women feel more confident in their health and bodies.
And she’s also launched a swimsuit line.
In her announcement post from June, Frankel wrote, “Launching elevated, elegant, sophisticated, shaping swim to make EVERY BODY feel their best & beautiful.” Her line is available through HSN.
What do you think of Bethenny’s post? Let us know in the comments!
