This Woman Is Encouraging People To Stop Comparing Themselves To Others Online Through Her Viral Posed Versus Unposed Photo Series

Internet, meet Bree Lenehan, a 26-year-old content creator and body image advocate whose "Real Me Monday" Instagram series is inspiring others to share their real selves online.

As a part of the ongoing series, Bree updates her feed every Monday with a side-by-side image of herself posed and unposed. Both photos are commercial-worthy, but the right steers clear of photoshop or hiding features like stretch marks, cellulite, or normal human bloating. And that's the goal — as someone who previously struggled with her own body image, Bree told BuzzFeed that she hopes these pictures will help others realize "it’s okay to have these features and [that] we don’t need fixing."

"'Real Me Monday' was created when I was still struggling a lot with my own body image," Bree said. "I started posting the side-by-side images because I was the type of person who always compared myself to strangers online, and I also only ever posted my very best photos. I believed that the way to improve my own body image was to bite the bullet and post my unposed, real, in-between photos as well. If my followers saw all versions of me, then I knew I’d feel less like I had to show up as this 'perfect' version of me online and in real life. That was two years ago now, and I’ve posted 'RMM' every Monday since."

Here are 27 pairs of photos from her series:

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Though her series has seen much success — catapulting her following to over 700,000 on Instagram alone — it's not without criticism. Some in Bree's comment section say her series does not have the same impact as it would if she were not thin, which Bree says she recognizes.

"I understand where people are coming from as I do experience 'thin privilege,'" she said. "I’ve never gone into a store and struggled to find my size because the store doesn’t stock it, like a lot of plus-size people have experienced. But I have gone into a store, seen my body in the changing room mirrors, and cried because my body has lumps and bumps and roundness and softness — which I’ve come to learn is so normal, human, and beautiful. I really am just here to encourage inner-kindness, because it’s completely changed my life for the better."

After scrolling through her series, Bree says, "I hope [people will] let go of the unrealistic and unhealthy expectations that most of us have for ourselves that have been influenced by beauty standards in magazines, TV, social media, etc. I hope it’ll slowly chip away at their negative self-talk and eventually stop their mind from bullying their body so that they can live a fuller life."

If you'd like to keep up with Bree, you can follow her on Instagram.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.