Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the print edition of the 2022 spring-summer issue of Luxus+ Mag. Click here to see the full issue.
As it is often difficult to stop comparing oneself to others, to have confidence in oneself or to realize that the perfect body does not exist, many are the instagrammers who use their influence and image to inspire their community to become “the best version of themselves”. A look at four influencers who break the beauty clichés.
Celeste Barber
If her name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably already seen her on your Instagram feed. This Australian actress, comedian and author uses humor without moderation to parody photos of celebrities and models – who advocate a cult of thinness and unattainable beauty diktats – to denounce their superficial and surreal nature. With 9 million followers, Celeste Barber uses her reputation to spread a message of acceptance of all bodies, regardless of their imperfections !
My Better Self
This French video creator and author, whose real name is Louise Aubery, shares photos, recipe videos, and tips to help women break free from the beauty, slimming and sports ideals promoted on social networks. A former orthorexic, in other words, obsessed with eating healthy food exclusively, she has since managed to emancipate herself and found a community of over 530,000 people, following her daily for the uncomplicated photos, close to reality and far from the perfect aestheticism proposed on social networks that she shares. With her #OnVeutDuVrai, My Better Self has become in a few years an inspiration for all women who are tired of not feeling represented on the Internet.
Zachary Miko
Even though influencers who advocate for body acceptance values are less common, they are no less present ! Zachary Miko is one of them. This 33 year old American became the first plus size male model and the first to sign with the prestigious modeling agency IMG Models in the “Brawns” category. At the same time, this actor and singer, who has become the muse of the large size of the Target company, takes advantage of his fame to share on his social networks photos of his body. He also tries to help his community and especially men and teenagers to accept their bodies with their singularities and imperfections, and to have confidence in them.
Douze Février
Douze Février, whose real name is Julie Bourges, while she was only a high school student and taking advantage of a carnival, found herself with third degree burns after smoking a cigarette and setting her costume on fire. After three months of artificial coma, it is then the beginning of a long recovery that awaits Julie, having to relearn to live and accept her new body. In 2015, she decided to create an Instagram account to tell her story, help others who have experienced a similar story and, on a personal level, rebuild herself. To- day, she shares her daily life to her 614,000 followers and fights against the stigma of burn victims. In 2020, she published her first book: 100 positive, inspiring, and motivating thoughts, an inspiring collection filled with optimism that reflects the determination and courage of this young woman.
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Featured photo : © Press
