20 Times Celebrities Challenged Beauty Standards by Sharing Their So-Called Flaws

You know the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy whips back the curtain and realizes that the wizard on that big screen wasn&apost real, and that the truth was much more…regular? That&aposs what&aposs happening more and more on social media—only the wizard was everyone faking flawlessness on Instagram. If the past couple of years have been about anything, they&aposve been about people—both ordinary and famous—finally yanking back the curtain on social media to reveal a more honest picture.

These moments of realness aren&apost only refreshing, they&aposre also changing the way we see ourselves. And they&aposre challenging advertisers, casting directors, and the media to do the same. If being a "celebrity" no longer means upholding unrealistic ideals of nonstop perfection, it gets easier to accept that our bodies are not flawed—they&aposre human. That&aposs where these celebrities—in their heartfelt and self-deprecating glory—come in.

Jameela Jamil

Along with being hilarious on The Good Place, Jameela Jamil&aposs brand is all about body positivity and transparency—she often calls out celebrities and influencers for promoting products like diet teas. But she walks the walk too, posting about her own past struggles with an eating disorder and images of her own stretch marks.

"Boob stretch marks are a normal, beautiful thing. I have stretch marks all over my body and I hereby rename them all Babe Marks. They are a sign my body dared to take up extra space in a society that demands our eternal thinness," she wrote on Instagram. "They are my badge of honour for resisting society’s weaponizing of the female form. ❤️ ps. My face is white because I wear spf 100 sunscreen like a boss. 🤓 PS. LOVE YOUR BROWN SKIN. I tan responsibly but I love to tan! I love to embrace and celebrate my heritage. This skin bleaching and whitening should be banned. It’s inherently racist, classist and emotionally very damaging. #brownandproud"

Kim Kardashian

Ever since the early seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian has shared her struggles with psoriasis, a skin condition in which skin cells build up and form scaly, itchy dry patches on your body. Earlier this year, she posted photos of a flare-up she was treating with an herbal ointment. "Psoriasis is the shits," she captioned one shot.

Kendall Jenner

Kendall Jenner parlayed her acne problem into a business partnership when she teamed up with skin-care brand Proactiv. "While there are much bigger problems happening in the world, suffering from acne for me was debilitating," Jenner wrote in an Instagram post when the collaboration was announced. "It’s something that I’ve dealt with since I was a young teen and has caused me to feel anxious, helpless and insecure. As humans, I don’t think we share our insecurities enough because we live in a time where being &aposperfect&apos is the standard. We curate our life online and pick the pretty moments to post."

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer, who suffered from intense morning sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum, during her pregnancy, challenged the notion that pregnant women should always be glowing with just one simple Instagram post.

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson took her swollen pregnancy ankles public in hopes of finding some help in alleviating her suffering—and then she turned it into a hilarious take on the #10YearChallenge.

Rihanna

Rihanna might not have mentioned her leg hair directly in this Instagram, but it set off an Internet firestorm when she first posted it. "Rihanna has leg hair in her insta post so nobody better tell me shit when I grow out my leg hair this summer," wrote one Twitter user.

Yara Shahidi

As much as we all talk about our love for bushy brows, there&aposs still an unspoken rule that brows are to be brows, plural. Yara Shahidi is here to flip that narrative on its head with her absurdly adorable tribute to her unibrow. If only we&aposd had a role model like her when we were 17.

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham has long been known for real talk about her body—including "fetishizing" it, as she wrote—when illness caused her to lose a lot of weight. Now she&aposs on the other side of her health scare and celebrating it.

Amandla Stenberg

The Hate U Give star showed up to one of the film&aposs red-carpet premieres showing off not just a crazy-gorgeous dress but also some underarm hair. "#drama #underarmhair," Stenberg cheekily captioned an Instagram from the event.

Rachel Bloom

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend writer and star Rachel Bloom shared a photo of her acne saying, "The middle of shooting the season (around episode 8) is peak time for my hormones to run amok due to a hectic schedule. Try to spot the bloating, fatigue and zits and win a prize!"

Tracee Ellis Ross

Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross posted a video of her nose hair waxing appointment on Instagram, and never has there been more real content. We&aposll take her at her word—and her hysterical reaction—that you should "just say no" if the opportunity presents itself.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore took a pic showing off her off-duty brows before filming picked back up for Santa Clarita Diet. It&aposs a helpful reminder that there&aposs no reason to pluck, wax, or thread unless you want to.

Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff proudly displayed her cellulite via social media, taking on body-shaming and the idea that celebrity mothers should be expected to look a certain way.

Jessica Simpson (Again!)

As the clothing mogul and former reality TV star proved with a photo of her leg hair, she&aposs fully on board with a little leg hair. Simpson casually wrote, "Missed a spot…" Fans were here for it, because, well, it happens to all of us.

Bella Thorne

Back in 2017, Bella Thorne was arguably at the forefront of the push for body-hair self-acceptance, with an Insta of her leg hair blowing the topic wide open in June. Via Snapchat, she wrote, "Ok fine. I&aposll shave," but this was no peer pressure moment. Thorne&aposs been speaking out for her grooming choices since 2016, and whether livestreaming a bikini wax or clapping back at trolls on on Twitter, she&aposs demonstrated you can engage with different perspectives while standing your ground.

Brooklyn Decker

Brooklyn Decker once asked her Instagram followers to play Count the Chins—and now her son&aposs gotten into the game. She captioned this &aposgram: "The moment your child grabs your neck skin and laughs &aposgobble gobble!&apos" Thank you, @krissyae for capturing this on camera??"

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks&apos honesty and sense of humor are always a bright spot but especially so when she&aposs taking on self-image. Banks used a #TBT moment to get real about her self-esteem, writing, "Acne. Frizz. Haircuts by my friend @sorayaweddings and homemade jewelry cuz money was tight."

She continued: "Like now, I had days when I felt beautiful and proud and days when I felt low and despondent. Like now, I mostly tried not to worry about what I look like because I also have a powerful brain, lots of abilities, kindness and creativity and at the end of the day, those inner qualities are what I value the most about myself. But yeah, looking fine feels good too so, ya know, #balance The thing I know now that I didn&apost back then is that any energy I put into looking cute has to be about me and not about pleasing or attracting anybody else. Being praised for my looks is nice but not nearly as satisfying as being praised for my accomplishments or deeds."

Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham&aposs stardom has been both inspirational and a long, long time coming. Between several Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue shoots, collabs with size-inclusive Swimsuits for All, and speaking out as a body positive icon for women of all sizes, Graham has a ton of irons in the fire. But at the core of everything remains her dedication to giving her best effort and an honest representation of the not-perfect day-to-day that entails. Her caption on this Instagram summed it up: Capturing her stretch marks and cellulite, Graham wrote, "I workout. I do my best to eat well. I love the skin I&aposm in. And I&aposm not ashamed of a few lumps, bumps or cellulite.. and you shouldn&apost be either."

Graham continued to be super open about the changes her body went through during her first pregnancy. "Same same but a little different," she captioned a photo in August.

Gabrielle Union

It&aposs hard to look at Gabrielle Union and not see a crazy beautiful unicorn frozen in time, but she too runs into funny (read annoying) skin hijinks. No zit should get in the way of celebrating a fresh haircut, so Union captioned her newly blond selfie with, "Loving the new do... My zit also loves it 👀"

Chrissy Teigen

Along with the period acne Insta related to around the world, Chrissy Teigen once posted a viral photo prominently displaying some stretch marks (plus thigh bruises she got while working in the kitchen). "Stretchies say hi!" reads her caption.

Originally Appeared on Glamour