This Woman's Body-Positive Photos of Her Thigh Cellulite Are Going Viral
What you see on Instagram often doesn't reflect reality, especially when it comes to cellulite. Last week, Instagrammer Tesia Kline uploaded a post with side-by-side photos of her thighs with and without visible cellulite, and she's gotten a ton of appreciative responses to her body-positive message
In the photo on the left side, labeled "My Legs," Kline is posing at an angle and in lighting that makes it so her cellulite cannot be seen. In the photo on the right side, labeled "Also My Legs," she shows off her now-visible cellulite beneath the sunny sky.
"Sometimes your 'body goals' may not always be what they appear to be (especially on IG)," her caption reads. "Thank you, angles and lighting for helping me see that I’m still fcking FLAWESOME from every point of view!! And so are YOU 😉😉😉 Happy Hump Day, my loves 💋 Bottoms are from Amazon!!"
Since it was posted last week, Kline's Instagram has since received more than 6,000 likes and many positive comments from folks thanking her for making them feel better. "I need this because I have such a hard time loving my legs with all their bumps and lumps," one wrote. "Your honesty is amazing and so needed in social media," another chimed in.
According to Cosmopolitan, Kline, a 27-year-old student and nail technician from Alabama, took the photo on the right without the intention of showcasing her cellulite. However, she then decided to upload it to Instagram alongside the more posed shot to prove a point. "I wanted to share it because I feel like there are millions of women out there who are so insecure about something that is so normal," Kline told Cosmopolitan. "They try to 'cure' [cellulite] like it's some kind of disorder."
She also recounted an incident in which a DJ fat-shamed her while she was dancing, which spurred her to exercise obsessively and compete in body-building competitions. "I was never satisfied with my body no matter how lean I got," she told Cosmopolitan, adding that she later quit competing while continuing to work out regularly and eat a balanced diet. "I finally realized that my self-worth is not based on what I looked like. You don’t have to be lean and shredded to be happy or healthy."
"Life is way too short to worry about something so meaningless as cellulite or the negative opinions of others," she added. "It's up to us to just accept ourselves, enjoy, and live our lives to the fullest."
Read more stories on our relationships with our bodies:
We Asked Six Women to Bare Their Cellulite, and the Results Are Breathtaking
This Stunning Photo Series Features Women Covering Their Insecurities in Glitter
Now, watch girls ages five to 18 talk about what beauty means to them:
