Recent studies have shown Instagram to be the worst platform for our mental health.
Looking at an endless feed of curated, posed and edited images is like a drip filled with self-consciousness straight into your veins.
That's why the grassroots body positive posts on various social media can be so refreshing. It shows things we don't usually see, be it hair, rolls, things missing or added.
It's depressingly radical when Iskra Lawrence shows us the thigh gap is a pose and not a state of being, when Emily Bador shows some eczema, when Pippa Christian wears her afro hair naturally.
That's why mum and blogger Tova Leigh decided to pull back the curtain on her social media presence.
Tova has thousands of followers on her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram under her name My Thoughts About Stuff.
Sounding-off on issues like post-baby sex, c-sections and even writing an open letter to Kim K, Tova is keeping it real and opinionated (that's how we like our women, btw),.
She was basking in the glow of a well-received selfie which was racking up the desired response of 'beautiful' comments, when she saw an article about the ills of social media and the harm it does to self-esteem.
So, in an attempt to be part of the solution and not the problem, Leigh decided to post a behind-the-scenes shot, showing how she looked from another angle as well as the editing and effort it took to get the perfect shot.
'You see, overmthe weekend I read an article about how more and more people are feeling depressed and insecure because of all the images of "perfect" looking people on social media, which they perceive to be real.'
Leigh wrote that it took about 20 'attempts to get it right', as well as cropping and filters.
She posted the photo to show what is real,
In all my mum-tum, cellulitis, granny pants and absolutely zero thigh gap glory! Not the perfect sexy body by some dictated standard, but imperfectly fabulous because it is real and it is mine. So next time you see a 'perfect' image on IG or FB that makes you feel bad, remember this: Social media is full of shit. You are beautiful just the way you are. And there is nothing sexier than being real.
Leigh's 'real' post, garnered 41k likes, 1.8k comments and 7.5l shares.
Leigh explained in the comments how she hasn't always been this confident. After three kids, including twins and two c-sections she had 'many moments of doubt just like anyone. But I know that true beauty is so much more than smooth skin, perky boobs and a tight ass.'
'You guys have helped me realise that and I am forever grateful.'
So many women in the comments section were praising Tova for her candor, telling her, 'Finally someone out there that say's it as it is. Tova you rock, and I for one like the fact I have no gap in between my thighs, means I am one step closer to being a mermaid xxxx'
We love a well-curated 'gram feed as much as the next gal (more concept shoots from Beyoncé please), but keeping it real is important too.
Keep it up Tova.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
