Acts of Kindness
This Woman's 'Before And After' Photos Are Going Viral, But Not Because She Lost Weight
She is inspiring women everywhere to think about 'sizes' differently - what are your thoughts on this?
Cedric Jackson
11.15.17

A lot of women struggle with body image issues.

Magazines, television, and social media don’t make these issues any easier to deal with. All women should not look the same and there are many different types of beauty. Michelle Elman recently figured that our herself, and she wanted to share her experiences in hope of inspiring others to embrace their differences and love their own bodies.

In a recent Instagram post, she wrote:

“NUMBERS DON’T MEAN ANYTHING. So, are you really going to let a change in dress size dictate your day? Are you really going to let an increase in a number affect your mood? A higher dress size doesn’t mean: — you are less beautiful — you are less worthy — you are less lovable — you are a worse human — you are a bad person — you are a different person AND it doesn’t even mean you have a bigger body.”

Instagram/scarrednotscared
Source:
Instagram/scarrednotscared

It’s all about inspiring other women to love themselves.

Elman wanted to demonstrate how sizes have changed over time and how she can still look great in a dress or any outfit, no matter what the tag says. She also sets out to prove that women of all sizes have the right to wear what they want and feel good about their bodies. She uses her Instagram account to inspire others and feel good about herself.

Instagram/scarrednotscared
Source:
Instagram/scarrednotscared

She doesn’t only post photos or herself; she also posts inspirational quotes from others.

If these messages can help improve her own body positivity, maybe they can help others, as well. Her Instagram is proving to be inspirational, because many of her photos have gone viral.

Instagram/scarrednotscared
Source:
Instagram/scarrednotscared

Elman insists that her photos are not meant to focus on her size.

In fact, she shares her photos to prove that size doesn’t matter at all. She is beautiful no matter what, not just for her size. Although she posted her photos hoping to get a lot of support for herself and others, there were still people who had negative things to say. Some even had the nerve to tell her she wasn’t big enough. She fired back at her haters with a second post. She said:

“Since the creation of this account, I have always been told I’m beautiful ‘for my size’ and I never wanted to talk about it because I thought I was being pedantic but eventually decided to speak my mind about it.”

Instagram/scarrednotscared
Source:
Instagram/scarrednotscared

A lot of women struggle with issues that are like Elman’s, but they are too afraid or ashamed to talk about them.

This can lead to eating disorders and other forms of self-harm. It is important for all women to be supportive of each other and to find a way to love their own bodies. There is no specific size or shape that a woman needs to be in order to be considered attractive. It is better to be happy and healthy than to be struggling with an eating disorder just to fit into a smaller size.

Elman’s photos have gotten thousands of likes, comments, and shares, and she has inspired other women to use their own social media pages for similar purposes.

Women like Elman are helping to put a stop to fat shaming and size-shaming in general. Elman points out that just because she is a bigger girl, this doesn’t mean she isn’t aware that girls who are skinny also put up with a lot of criticism. Her goal is to teach women to feel comfortable in their own skin and focus on their goals and happiness instead of their weight.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Sources: Instagram, Upworthy, Michelle Elman

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