This Instagram Star Blasted Our Double Standard of 'Sexy' Bodies on Instagram
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An Instagram star is confronting the double standard "sexy" women face on the platform compared to their male counterparts.
Lindsey Pelas, who has more than 3 million Instagram followers and has modeled for Playboy, recently penned a article and appeared in an accompanying video for Cosmopolitan about the sexist comments she receives for embracing her curves and body on social media. She wrote that while she has garnered positive attention for her "sexy" posts on Instagram, she has also been slut-shamed and called horrible names as a result of posting these images. "Sexy" men, on the other hand, aren't typically subjected to such vitriol from commenters, she argues:
A ton of social media guys are super sexy — the beautiful faces, the chiseled abs. They're always posting shirtless pics. I've seen their butts online. And it's nothing but love from women. It's, 'I want to marry you, I adore you.' When a women posts a sexy photo, there's flattery too, but a lot of it is negativity, anger, jealousy — anything but admiration. I've never seen someone leave a 'ho' comment on a guy's picture. Until that day, I feel like we still have work to do.
In her video for Cosmopolitan, she advised girls who are slut-shamed to recognize that it's "probably not going to end" and just keep doing what they love regardless of the criticism. For Pelas, that criticism began at an early age.
I first realized that I was sexy when I was around 14. My boobs were big, but I didn't know they were big until I got a reaction from the boys. They would write my name on the bathroom wall, very cheesy moves. There was so much attention, but I had never asked for it.
Pelas' remarks come shortly after reality star Kim Kardashian was widely shamed for posting a nude selfie on social media.
Mic writer Natasha Noman noted the sexist contrast between the way people reacted to Kardashian for posting her nude photo and the way people treated singer Justin Bieber for sharing a photo of his rear end on Instagram around the same time. While Bieber was lauded by many for showing off his butt, Kardashian faced immense shaming, with actress Chloe Grace Moretz even questioning the kind of example she was setting for young girls.
Watch Pelas' video below:
Read Pelas' full story on Cosmopolitan.
