A glance through our social media feeds can be enough to leave many of us feeling insecure. Between Instagram-perfect diets, thigh gaps, and "body goals," it seems impossible to live up to the ideals the media promotes. Vlogger Tova Leigh has had enough of this.
In an epic rant posted to Youtube earlier this month and shared by Pop Sugar, Leigh calls out all the ways social media (and the media in general) makes women feel inadequate. The video is equal parts hilarious and full of truth bombs.
"If you are an average woman, chances are that you have been made to feel either too fat or too thin," she says. "No matter how hard you try and how good you look, you can always look better." She describes feeling like she's constantly reading about "the baby food diet, the 'don't eat at night' diet, the 'just don't eat' diet," adding, "I mean, it's just so confusing I have to eat some chips."
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She drew attention in particular to all the Instagram posts and tabloid stories about post-baby bodies. "What about all the shit people say to moms? 'You know, she gave birth like three minutes ago and still hasn't bounced back.' 'She's really let herself go since becoming a mom.'"
Her response to it all? "Looking perfect is overrated, and whoever puts pressure on moms or women or young girls to look a certain way can seriously kiss my cake-loving ass."
Leigh is right: The internet really can encourage body negativity. Only 2% of women in a recent Refinery29 survey said they were completely happy with their bodies, and 42% felt bad about their looks after seeing photos of others' beach trips. 5.5% of tweets contain the word "fat," and most of them are negative, according to a Yale study. And a University of North Texas study found that people who use Tinder feel worse about their looks.
But by showing people alternatives to mainstream beauty standards and diet culture, the internet can also be a body-positive place — and Leigh's video is one awesome example of that.
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