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Woman Challenges Unrealistic Body Standards With Side-By-Side “Real Me Monday” Photos Of Herself (30 Pics)
Interview
We live in a world that is very much influenced by social media. And what we usually scroll through is a never-ending chain of pictures that showcase happy people with perfect bodies in beautiful places. If there were times when these moments from someone’s life used to encourage us to strive for more and for the better, now often people find these images to be a reminder that someone is doing much more than you. Despite the fact that society doesn’t avoid various discussions about body image, it’s still quite rare to see people who are open about how they really look in reality, without trying to force perfect body image.
One of these people is Bree Lenehan, who is a social media content creator and business owner. The woman who already has an army of followers caught everyone’s attention by posting side-by-side pictures of her posed and real-looking body.
More Info: Instagram | TikTok | Youtube
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The woman, who is known for her followers on social media as a Youtuber and the author, talks about health, self-love, and positivity. Bree started posting these two-sided pictures every Monday, calling it “Real Me Monday” by revealing that good looks can be posed and that people should love their bodies for what they look like in reality.
both are so real.....just be happy with ur pics n don't use them to spread the wrong things...even if it makes u happy
Bored Panda contacted the creator to find out more about her project. Bree shared that she was surprised to see so many people love her idea of showing her real self and encouraging others to do so. “It made sense to me that people are craving realness & relatability instead of the posed, perfected, fakeness we usually consume on social media. It made my heart happy to help people feel better and more loving towards themselves”, added the woman.
Bree also revealed some details about the very start of her project. Even though people might seem to want to see more relatable body images on the Internet, but it takes courage to show people how you really look without knowing how they’ll react to it. The woman revealed why she started her project: “I first started the weekly series of ‘Real Me Monday’ because I'd experienced negative body image growing up & I wanted to challenge myself to put my real self out there, instead of posting my ‘perfect’ self online”. She also added that this practice made her more comfortable with how she looks like and boosted her confidence. Bree also didn’t hide the fact that by doing this she was able to help others to overcome their insecurities.
The power of sucking in your stomach. And angles, angles play a big part in how your body looks on photos
For those who are trying to find themselves and are struggling with accepting the way they look, Bree says: “Prioritize positive self talk...We underestimate the power of our minds. We can't possibly ‘fall’ into loving ourselves. It takes practice, time and a lot of kindness. So in any endeavor for self love, it's not about how the outside looks, it's about what the inside says! Being kinder to myself has changed my world".
how is she able to keep her face so calm while staring towards the sun?????
Its like the first picture is staring at the second picture 😂😂
Note: this post originally had 40 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
How is this body positivity, exactly? A skinny lady pulls down her waistline and pushes out her stomach to show...what? That Instagram pictures are staged? We know that already.
Having stomach fat is very normal and healthy. It's supposed to be there in fact. I appreciate this as my very normal amount of stomach fat has been something thats given me anxiety in the past.
Thanks for another enlightening post, Bored Panda! I had no idea instagram photos were staged and filtered and chosen from a whole roll of potential photos to show the most socially acceptable flattering photo. Profound!
I just don't understand this trend, you want to show what real bodies look like so you show the difference between a fake and real photo. Just show what your real body looks like and stop posting the fake! Your not helping body positivity if you keep showing a fake body.
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer a bit of a belly on a girl. I'd rather be with someone I can pig-out on the sofa with, rather than share a bowl of spinach and kale.
The important part about these images is that they draw arrention to posed vs relaxed bodies. Making sure the audience looking at posed bodies understands why they don't look like that in their relaxed position, while scrolling through their phone. It's not ground breaking work, just a friendly reminder that those people aren't walking around with their gut sucked in and back arched all day every day.
Ridiculous! Should be titled 'Slim girl works very hard to make herself look ever so slightly less slim in an attempt to promote false body positivity'
She always looks so much happier and beautiful in the “chubby” pictures.
In Ancient Egypt, a small pot-belly on both men and women signified wealth. You notice it in the tomb paintings of Pharaohs and their Queens. The height of desirability.
Wow, what a surprise. Another attention seeking "oh look at me and I will present myself as flawed but expect all of the viewers to tell me how beautiful I really am" c**t. What a great contribution.
Totally agree...did women learn nothing from the old days of whalebone corsets that led to fainting spells? Now we do it with starvation diets and expensive time-consuming workouts... and the older you get, gravity takes over anyway...
Maybe it's just me but I think a smile and posture go a long way! The only pictures where the girl doesn't look attractive or 3,7 and 9 where she looks depressed or is wearing extremely baggy clothing. Smile goes a long way to being attractive.... More so than the appearance of a perfectly flat stomach
My mom used to say "suck it in" all growing up. Luckily my dad taught me to love myself and that women should have a little fat on them. Curves he say... men like Curves. I grew up hearing both from my parents but my dad made the biggest impact because that's what men thought. So I have never been super self conscious about belt fat or having Curves. I'm not fat but I'm also not a size 4. I still find myself "sucking it in" a lot without even thinking about it. Which is scary because even though I'm not self conscious that's been beaten into my head so much my mom and society that I'll do it without thinking about it. I can't imagine how some women feel. We are all beautiful and I'm glad this finally starting to be brought out.
I think there is a need of image education. I'm still baffled that people need this kind of post to realize how fake most of fashion/beauty photos are.
Ok. We've seen this many times. I understand the point, but at what point are these just to get attention? We've seen this on Bored panda alone multiple times.
It's refreshing to see the natural look. what a relief to see someone not trying to look like the 2024 image of 'perfect.'
Just goes to show how women are expected to suck their gut in to hide their true body or risk getting called fat or pregnant, whilst it’s acceptable for men to usually just let it all hang out, especially as they get older and develop their “dad bod” And let’s not forget the ridiculous sizing on women’s clothing, which can be massively hit and miss depending on your body shape.
I call BS. I bet both pics were photoshop and/or exaggerated. You can photoshop some things and make it look good. But she wants us to believe the whole body was photoshop and done perfectly? Bull… if she would post the same pic with and without photoshop that’s one thing but she staged the “normal” pics
Yeah I didn't get this..it's the same hot chick one with belly out one sucked it. No difference. Nothing to feel positive about just hot chicks showing a little belly. Supposed to make me feel better. Don't think so
I think all the women should be proud of how beautiful they look naturally.
No offense, but this woman has a near-perfect body and this isn’t at all helpful. She has to TRY to not look gorgeous.
Amazing! The world needs more ordinary body pics to clear the view of pretended ones as natural. Great work! It's horrible how fake and anorectic becomes "norm" or "beauty" in an enlightened world of today. Sad. So this was a real treat! Thanks for making my day great and jiggly =D. Love that insightful smile! Cheers from Sweden
It's insane what a few inches of fabric and the right pose can do, she is absolutely adorable anyway you toss the coin, though- we need more people to feel comfortable like this, because if we promote and prioritize something different, it will be a new normal- she looked so adorable with her belly, it's crazy that society would call that "fat" or "unattractive", when it's just a healthy human body! And it's beautiful as long as we remember to look at it that way, as a miraculous thing that contains you and keeps you alive, it's actually an incredible thing when you think about it, and we should celebrate all of our healthy bodies, and work hard to make them HEALTHY (not "perfect", that is so completely subjective anyway!) when they are unhealthy, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be your best self, but always remember that your best might look TOTALLY different than mine, or anyone else's, for that matter! Being happy and comfortable in your skin is the ultimate beauty, IMHO!
Who would have thought that when you photoshop and try to forcefully look bad you... Look bad. Suprise.
Some of you in the comments are f*****g hilarious is she only supposed to be 300 pounds plus for this to be body positivity???
I love it that if I want a fit girl or at least ome that do not need a harpoon if I want to catch her then it's 'unrealistic standards' But it's perfectly normal to turn down men under 6' ...
Real guys like really pretty tummys and belly buttons with slight muffin tops. So fine.
How is this body positivity, exactly? A skinny lady pulls down her waistline and pushes out her stomach to show...what? That Instagram pictures are staged? We know that already.
Having stomach fat is very normal and healthy. It's supposed to be there in fact. I appreciate this as my very normal amount of stomach fat has been something thats given me anxiety in the past.
Thanks for another enlightening post, Bored Panda! I had no idea instagram photos were staged and filtered and chosen from a whole roll of potential photos to show the most socially acceptable flattering photo. Profound!
I just don't understand this trend, you want to show what real bodies look like so you show the difference between a fake and real photo. Just show what your real body looks like and stop posting the fake! Your not helping body positivity if you keep showing a fake body.
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer a bit of a belly on a girl. I'd rather be with someone I can pig-out on the sofa with, rather than share a bowl of spinach and kale.
The important part about these images is that they draw arrention to posed vs relaxed bodies. Making sure the audience looking at posed bodies understands why they don't look like that in their relaxed position, while scrolling through their phone. It's not ground breaking work, just a friendly reminder that those people aren't walking around with their gut sucked in and back arched all day every day.
Ridiculous! Should be titled 'Slim girl works very hard to make herself look ever so slightly less slim in an attempt to promote false body positivity'
She always looks so much happier and beautiful in the “chubby” pictures.
In Ancient Egypt, a small pot-belly on both men and women signified wealth. You notice it in the tomb paintings of Pharaohs and their Queens. The height of desirability.
Wow, what a surprise. Another attention seeking "oh look at me and I will present myself as flawed but expect all of the viewers to tell me how beautiful I really am" c**t. What a great contribution.
Totally agree...did women learn nothing from the old days of whalebone corsets that led to fainting spells? Now we do it with starvation diets and expensive time-consuming workouts... and the older you get, gravity takes over anyway...
Maybe it's just me but I think a smile and posture go a long way! The only pictures where the girl doesn't look attractive or 3,7 and 9 where she looks depressed or is wearing extremely baggy clothing. Smile goes a long way to being attractive.... More so than the appearance of a perfectly flat stomach
My mom used to say "suck it in" all growing up. Luckily my dad taught me to love myself and that women should have a little fat on them. Curves he say... men like Curves. I grew up hearing both from my parents but my dad made the biggest impact because that's what men thought. So I have never been super self conscious about belt fat or having Curves. I'm not fat but I'm also not a size 4. I still find myself "sucking it in" a lot without even thinking about it. Which is scary because even though I'm not self conscious that's been beaten into my head so much my mom and society that I'll do it without thinking about it. I can't imagine how some women feel. We are all beautiful and I'm glad this finally starting to be brought out.
I think there is a need of image education. I'm still baffled that people need this kind of post to realize how fake most of fashion/beauty photos are.
Ok. We've seen this many times. I understand the point, but at what point are these just to get attention? We've seen this on Bored panda alone multiple times.
It's refreshing to see the natural look. what a relief to see someone not trying to look like the 2024 image of 'perfect.'
Just goes to show how women are expected to suck their gut in to hide their true body or risk getting called fat or pregnant, whilst it’s acceptable for men to usually just let it all hang out, especially as they get older and develop their “dad bod” And let’s not forget the ridiculous sizing on women’s clothing, which can be massively hit and miss depending on your body shape.
I call BS. I bet both pics were photoshop and/or exaggerated. You can photoshop some things and make it look good. But she wants us to believe the whole body was photoshop and done perfectly? Bull… if she would post the same pic with and without photoshop that’s one thing but she staged the “normal” pics
Yeah I didn't get this..it's the same hot chick one with belly out one sucked it. No difference. Nothing to feel positive about just hot chicks showing a little belly. Supposed to make me feel better. Don't think so
I think all the women should be proud of how beautiful they look naturally.
No offense, but this woman has a near-perfect body and this isn’t at all helpful. She has to TRY to not look gorgeous.
Amazing! The world needs more ordinary body pics to clear the view of pretended ones as natural. Great work! It's horrible how fake and anorectic becomes "norm" or "beauty" in an enlightened world of today. Sad. So this was a real treat! Thanks for making my day great and jiggly =D. Love that insightful smile! Cheers from Sweden
It's insane what a few inches of fabric and the right pose can do, she is absolutely adorable anyway you toss the coin, though- we need more people to feel comfortable like this, because if we promote and prioritize something different, it will be a new normal- she looked so adorable with her belly, it's crazy that society would call that "fat" or "unattractive", when it's just a healthy human body! And it's beautiful as long as we remember to look at it that way, as a miraculous thing that contains you and keeps you alive, it's actually an incredible thing when you think about it, and we should celebrate all of our healthy bodies, and work hard to make them HEALTHY (not "perfect", that is so completely subjective anyway!) when they are unhealthy, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be your best self, but always remember that your best might look TOTALLY different than mine, or anyone else's, for that matter! Being happy and comfortable in your skin is the ultimate beauty, IMHO!
Who would have thought that when you photoshop and try to forcefully look bad you... Look bad. Suprise.
Some of you in the comments are f*****g hilarious is she only supposed to be 300 pounds plus for this to be body positivity???
I love it that if I want a fit girl or at least ome that do not need a harpoon if I want to catch her then it's 'unrealistic standards' But it's perfectly normal to turn down men under 6' ...
Real guys like really pretty tummys and belly buttons with slight muffin tops. So fine.
