Instagrammer Posts Distorted Figure to Make a Point
Photos on Instagram can paint a very different picture of reality — with the help of Photoshop and the wide range of editing apps available to users.
Premed student Samantha Chiascione, 20, who goes by the name samcheyenne on Instagram, recently posted a photo that illustrates just how much influence those tools have on body image and perception.
In the image, the Arizona State University student, who has almost 86,000 followers on the social platform, poses against a wall in a bathing suit — and her body is heavily Photoshopped.
A post shared by SAMANTHA CHEYENNE (@samcheyenne) on Mar 30, 2017 at 8:52pm PDT
She captioned the image, “I’ve been so nervous to post this picture with no edit but I’ve worked so hard and I really am proud of how far I’ve come. Hard work really does pay off #NoDaysOff #GrindSzn.”
The sarcastic tone of the caption is an obvious reference to some social media users’ tendency to heavily Photoshop their images. Chiascione was hoping her followers would get the humor behind the post.
“The post was kind of satirical, in the sense that I was making fun of girls who use apps to change their bodies completely to what they find desirable,” she tells Yahoo Beauty. “I definitely feel like girls feel pressured to look a certain way on social media, and the fact that there are apps like Facetune to make your body look however you want is toxic. It’s not real.”
The photo received about 5,000 likes and hundreds of comments — with many users agreeing with the message behind the post.
“I love her sarcasm. When girls said they work hard but they actually go under the knife,” one user wrote in the comments section. Others found the post hilarious and tagged their friends in it.
“I like that people were on board and were laughing. It was just a joke anyways. I’m happy that people thought it was funny,” Chiascione says.
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
This Blogger Just Made an Amazing Point About Instagram Beauty Standards
Ireland Baldwin Embraces Her Imperfections in Inspiring Instagram Post
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