Body positivity movement #freethepimple encourages people to embrace their skin. Image supplied.
In the age of social media, some may argue that Instagram is detrimental to maintaining realistic beauty standards, with more and more people presenting themselves in a way that is anything but real. The idea of what is beautiful is so far from attainable, it’s no surprise that women’s perceptions of themselves and what they should look like is warped. However, on the other end, some may also argue that Instagram has now become not only a platform for being crowned “most beautiful,” but also a platform for women to stand up and present themselves as they are, their real selves, flaws and all, and this body positive movement has been moving full steam ahead in recent years, which brings us to the latest Insta-trend, #freethepimple.
#freethepimple is the latest hashtag to join the body positive movement urging women to take a break from make-up and skin treatments and embrace the skin they are in.
Louise Northcote, founder of #freethepimple, told i-D Magazine that she had nobody to talk to about acne when growing up, so she decided to build a community where people could support each other.
“Body positivity is a powerful movement, which has led to industry-wide embrace of models of all different body types,” she said. “It has seen an embrace of people with stretch marks, an embrace of female nipples, an embrace of seeing women with their periods, and now it’s time to embrace your skin, which is why I have created #freethepimple – a movement that I hope will empower others to embrace the skin they’re in.”
So far, #freethepimple has garnered over 800 Instagram posts from women all over the world, baring their natural skin and sharing stories on their battles with acne.