Taking Initiative

Instagram influencers spread positivity

Photo by Daniel Benavides, Wikipedia commons

Lizzo at an SWSX event

The world of social media is constantly evolving, taking steps forward to create a more inclusive and diverse network of audiences. While the internet has once been a place criticized for tearing people down and promoting unrealistic beauty standards, many influencers are using their platforms to change the narrative, focusing on confidence, kindness and the normalization of all body and skin types.

Author, blogger and Instagram influencer Megan Jayne Crabbe shares her thoughts on becoming comfortable in her own skin, hoping to inspire others. She has 1.2 million followers on Instagram and has written both blogs and books about body positivity and acceptance of both yourself and others.

“I’ve made the radical decision that it’s okay to enjoy the good things,” Crabbe said on her Instagram @meganjaynecrabbe. “It doesn’t mean that you don’t care about the not-so-good things. It doesn’t mean that you don’t still have bad days. It just means that, hey, you’ve worked really hard to get to where you are—wouldn’t it be a tragedy if you didn’t let yourself take it in?”

Popular singer and rapper Lizzo uses more than just her song lyrics to spread plus-sized positivity. With a fanbase of 13 million on Instagram, she spreads love for all body shapes and sizes and encourages her fans to have confidence in themselves.

“I think it’s lazy for me to just say I’m body positive at this point,” Lizzo said, according to vogue.com. “I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body.”

Kelvin Davis, also known as “Notoriously Dapper” on Instagram, shares his advice about self love and acceptance. On his blog and his many social media accounts, he focuses on men’s fashion for all body types, encouraging his entire audience to be unafraid in expressing themselves through their clothing and attitude.

“I started this blog after a shopping trip left a bad taste in my mouth,” Davis said, according to notoriouslydapper.com. “Ever since then I have vowed to never feel that insecure or ashamed of my size again. I started posting outfit looks to inspire and show men of size that you can be stylish regardless of our limitations when shopping.”

Tiffany Ima is a body positivity influencer who shares her passion for exercise, self-expression and confidence boosting with her audience. The posts on her Instagram feature ways to be active, methods of self-care, fashion tips, inspiring quotes and much more. Ima also shares her story of overcoming difficult obstacles in life and finding the courage to embrace herself.

“I grew up in a world not just being told I wasn’t beautiful, but also that I couldn’t be beautiful because of my dark skin and Nigerian features,” Ima said on her Instagram @tiffanyima. “After all the healing work I did to [heal these wounds], I have no desire to feel neutral about myself. I believe that I am absolutely beautiful and that women who look like me are beautiful.”