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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".
You have no idea of how many young girls you have helped to see that pictures can be deceiving on the internet. And you may save a few lives in the process. So many teen girls are striving to be perfect like all of the tweaked images they see daily. They face harsh criticism if they post any natural photo. My own daughter gets told she's fat...her smile is crooked...her nose is wide...etc. Her self-esteem is horrible and she already has a wish list for plastic surgery. She's 16-years-old. I showed her your photos and she studied them for a while. She says that you are more beautiful naturally because you just look like every other girl on the internet in the other photos. You made an impact on her and I am very grateful!
Yes,I agree.I hope she learns be her amazing self.
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C'mon,I think you shouldn't hate yourself like this,you deserve better.I hope you realise how lovely you are just the way you are.
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I truly wish my only problem was a small bit of fat around my waist. LOLOLOL!!!!
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.
Not everybody is consciously aware of that. Many girls are self conscious about their stomach fat. This staging is so prevalent that many of us absorb this as normal or what we should look like without realizing it.
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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.
Indeed. It is sad how nowadays the image of a "healthy woman' must have a flat stomach that most people dont get unless they are underweight. For our society the right pictures show her as "fat" when she is perfectly healthy and fine.
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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.
I agree, but the point is it's not a "fake" body. It's not photoshopped. It's selective angles and elastic clothes that hide and slim the real body.
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I know what you mean, however, if your tummy goes inside while you inhale then you are doing it wrong (stress reaction!) . It is supposed to come out with the inhale and go back in with the exhale...
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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.
That's funny cuz I'm a woman & I feel the same way about a guy !!!
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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'
Yup. Another post of a young, fit woman who clearly spends a lot of their life working to meet cultural norms (how many workout outfits does she own?) of beauty showing that she can look kinda just okay if she tries hard. Cooooooool. We couldn't actually just have people look like they look in media, social or otherwise, and be okay with that, could we?
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She always looks so much happier and beautiful in the “chubby” pictures.
Because her face isn't tense like it is in the first pics... her whole body, including face is tense in first ones
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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.
Well yeah, because a belly showed they were wealthy enough not to starve to death...
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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.
That's like saying anyone who feels positively about themselves and posts online is an attention seeker. Kindly, grow up. If you have nothing nice to say, leave. You're only making yourself seem like a senile old person, it's not a very flattering look. She looks beautiful and if you're too insecure to admit that? That's your problem. Have a good day, hopefully you cheer up a bit.
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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.
U r lucky, my dad was *complete* opposite.. I never ever looked good enough in his eyes, even though my body looks pretty darn good for having 4 kids & I've always been told I was pretty.. but *his* view of me affected my self-image..
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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.
most kids out there are truly shocked to find out things like this. I'm so glad i don't have daughters. i wouldn't allow her on any social media if i did! LOL
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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.
i have no problem with redundant articles like this. the unrealistic beauty standards of the Kardashian/jenner clan gets hammered into our heads (especially young ppl!) so it's only fair to combat that with regular postings of stories such as this. (and everyone knows Kardashian/jenners have billions of dollars, professional makeup artists, designer clothes literally made just to flatter their body type, and (even tho they don't like to admit it:) fillers, botox and major plastic surgery. basically not even the "Instagram models" look like that! LOL)
Load More Replies... Whoops, new to BP's app. Was meant to be posted under John's reply to my comment.
Load More Replies... 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???
Then everybody would be screeching that she promotes being morbidly obese as body positivity! There is no way to win here - anybody trying to post something uplifting will always be dragged down back into the bucket with the other crabs. How dare she speak about body positivity when she has such a pretty smile! /s
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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.
'Enough' for who exactly? Whose business is it but hers how strong her abs are?
Load More Replies... Good to know, John. Next time I pick up a barbell to get myself healthy and increase bone density to be strong into old age, I'll remember that all you need is a female in the kitchen cooking for you.
Load More Replies...
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.
Not everybody is consciously aware of that. Many girls are self conscious about their stomach fat. This staging is so prevalent that many of us absorb this as normal or what we should look like without realizing it.
Load More Replies... 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.
Indeed. It is sad how nowadays the image of a "healthy woman' must have a flat stomach that most people dont get unless they are underweight. For our society the right pictures show her as "fat" when she is perfectly healthy and fine.
Load More Replies... 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.
I agree, but the point is it's not a "fake" body. It's not photoshopped. It's selective angles and elastic clothes that hide and slim the real body.
Load More Replies... I know what you mean, however, if your tummy goes inside while you inhale then you are doing it wrong (stress reaction!) . It is supposed to come out with the inhale and go back in with the exhale...
Load More Replies... 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.
That's funny cuz I'm a woman & I feel the same way about a guy !!!
Load More Replies... 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'
Yup. Another post of a young, fit woman who clearly spends a lot of their life working to meet cultural norms (how many workout outfits does she own?) of beauty showing that she can look kinda just okay if she tries hard. Cooooooool. We couldn't actually just have people look like they look in media, social or otherwise, and be okay with that, could we?
Load More Replies... She always looks so much happier and beautiful in the “chubby” pictures.
Because her face isn't tense like it is in the first pics... her whole body, including face is tense in first ones
Load More Replies... 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.
Well yeah, because a belly showed they were wealthy enough not to starve to death...
Load More Replies... 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.
That's like saying anyone who feels positively about themselves and posts online is an attention seeker. Kindly, grow up. If you have nothing nice to say, leave. You're only making yourself seem like a senile old person, it's not a very flattering look. She looks beautiful and if you're too insecure to admit that? That's your problem. Have a good day, hopefully you cheer up a bit.
Load More Replies... 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.
U r lucky, my dad was *complete* opposite.. I never ever looked good enough in his eyes, even though my body looks pretty darn good for having 4 kids & I've always been told I was pretty.. but *his* view of me affected my self-image..
Load More Replies... 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.
most kids out there are truly shocked to find out things like this. I'm so glad i don't have daughters. i wouldn't allow her on any social media if i did! LOL
Load More Replies... 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.
i have no problem with redundant articles like this. the unrealistic beauty standards of the Kardashian/jenner clan gets hammered into our heads (especially young ppl!) so it's only fair to combat that with regular postings of stories such as this. (and everyone knows Kardashian/jenners have billions of dollars, professional makeup artists, designer clothes literally made just to flatter their body type, and (even tho they don't like to admit it:) fillers, botox and major plastic surgery. basically not even the "Instagram models" look like that! LOL)
Load More Replies... Whoops, new to BP's app. Was meant to be posted under John's reply to my comment.
Load More Replies... 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???
Then everybody would be screeching that she promotes being morbidly obese as body positivity! There is no way to win here - anybody trying to post something uplifting will always be dragged down back into the bucket with the other crabs. How dare she speak about body positivity when she has such a pretty smile! /s
Load More Replies... 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.
'Enough' for who exactly? Whose business is it but hers how strong her abs are?
Load More Replies... Good to know, John. Next time I pick up a barbell to get myself healthy and increase bone density to be strong into old age, I'll remember that all you need is a female in the kitchen cooking for you.
Load More Replies...