Top 5 INSTA Influencers Every Girl Needs On Her Feed (TW)

Being a girl is hard, and with the rise of social media and influencers, it's difficult to feel like you're working hard enough, living the most aesthetic life, or are 'slim thick' enough to please anyone. I for one struggle with accepting my body for what it is and I know social media isn't great on tackling this stigma. "Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Unfortunately, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media." (Palmer Mario, 2014). Those terrifying stats will only rise in percentage as social media, particularly, Instagram becomes an addiction to impressionable girls in this era. Thankfully, I choose to keep my insta feed body positive friendly in the hopes that my body will one day be my safe haven, and friend. With the help of inspiring women, maybe one day us girls won't hate our bodies so much! Here's a few of my current favourite 'insta baddies' that are really helping me to love the skin I'm in. I hope they help you too!

1. Bella Davis @isabelladavis6 

Bella is simply incredible! The Australian hype woman takes to her Instagram story everyday to sing "good morning beautiful queens" and reminds her followers that their body is extraordinary and looks amazing just as it is. The influencer is extremely open about previous body image struggles she's faced, and normalising them in society today. These stigmas include: razor bumps, stretch marks, 'soft' stomachs and insecurity in the bedroom. A particular caption that stood out to me on Bella's profile reads, "Gaining weight is hard. Adjusting to your body changing is tough. I'm sure a lot of you can relate. This body is different to the one I used to live in. It's grown, evolved and changed. And maybe I don't love her all the time and that's okay. I don't need to. But I refuse to hate her. I hope you refuse to hate yours." What I love is how accepted I feel when I click onto Bella's profile and how relatable she is. I think it's extremely important for influencers, like Bella to fill up your timeline showing you the ideal body type you should have; your own. Bella has helped women everywhere overcome stigmas like, being intimate with a partner, wearing certain clothes and even just looking at yourself in the mirror. It's very inspiring hearing these powerful women openly discuss topics our schools are scared to; which leads me to think, maybe giving my social media a positive algorithm, may just be what I need in order to accept myself fully. Every body is gorgeous, including those bumps, rolls and marks too, and with the help of Bella, I'm falling in love with mine. Make sure to check out her page, she welcomes EVERYONE with a big hug!

2. Nelly London @_nelly_london

Nelly, based in Brighton, UK is like my Instagram big sister! Her bio reads "That girl with the hip dips / normal stuff / eating disorder recovery / everything else." I've been following Nelly for a few months now and every time I see her on my feed, I smile. Nelly, sponsored by websites like 'LoveHoney' and 'Loungewear' typically posts pics in the lingerie she's promoting and never blurs out an insecurity, or edits her body. Her natural beauty shines through on every post with the loveliest captions in the world! I also find that seeing a woman without the (stereotypical) desired body be so confident is what makes them the most attractive. In a world where the desired body changes every month, rather than trying to keep up, Nelly has taught me to embrace what I have (and flaunt it when and if I'm ready!)

I admire Nelly's vulnerability, always, as she discusses past surgery mistakes, her previous insecurity with her hip dips and her ongoing struggle to love herself. As an avid follower, it's so lovely to see girls like Nelly who I adore watching bake treats every Sunday, discuss having bad body image days. This helps me to remember that these influencers feel just like I do sometimes and just how normal it is. "Having a bad body image day does not mean you have a bad boy" has resonated with me since the day I read it, and it's given me the courage to appreciate my body for what it is. One last reason for my obsession with this girls Instagram, is that she consistently reminds me to spend time by myself and to look after my mind, so that my mind can protect my body. IN LOVE!

3. Chessie King @chessiekingg

Chessie might be the funniest influencer I follow on Insta! The first time mum openly discusses the changes her body has faced, not only postpartum, but through lockdown and through adulthood in general. This queen of Instagram regularly posts funny 'reels' where her and her partner, Matt, do mini sketches when promoting brands, or when she's hyping up her followers by going out of her comfort zone post lockdown, proving that it's not so scary after all. “How much did Maya Angelou weigh when she was awarded the Presidential medal of freedom? “I have absolutely no idea” dats righttttt because not one of these women achieved what they did because of how much they weighed.” Chessie has so naturally progressed her style of posts from fitness and lifestyle to realistic mum, and even though I can’t relate to that as such, Chessie is helping me understand the changes my body will go through, should that day come or even as my body gets bigger or smaller; I now welcome it with open arms. I’ve loved following her journey and never now underestimate just how fast life changes. However, Chessie’s constant positive attitude is like a breath of fresh air and is exactly what I need on a cold Monday morning and even on a wild Friday night. I can’t forget to mention how great she is for fashion inspo. This is a lady who will continue to inspire me for as long as she keeps posting to the gram and if you haven’t followed her yet, what’re you doing?

4. Karina Irby @karinairby

Karina is absolutely gorgeous! Not only is she the most beautiful girl on my feed but she consistently exposes all of her haters through her feed as a massive “screw you” and it’s the most empowering thing ever! The American is extremely open about her skin condition, ‘Pityriasis’ and doesn’t let it phase her knowing she’s host to over 1.2 impressionable followers. What I love about Karina’s profile is the amount of side by side, posed and unposed, edited and unedited photos she posts, giving girls realistic body standards and proving how capable your body is of hiding ‘flaws’ when you want to give social media an unrealistic representation of yourself. Karina also loves creating discussions in the comments for her followers to contribute to. Her profile is an incredibly safe space to voice your opinion. For example, when asking her followers how editing apps made them feel, a follower replied “my friend uses them often and took our photo today. I don’t like how it distorts my face. I’ve spent enough time learning how to love every part of myself that I don’t want to filter anything anymore. #normalisenormalbodies” 

Accounts like Karina’s are helping women to understand the importance of body positivity in this world of false pretences and I think it’s the best thing social media has ever had to offer in its ever progressing state. Not only is Karina a phenomenal influencer, but she’s actually created and developed her own swimwear brand ensuring all shapes and sizes of women feel amazing at the beach! @moana_bikini has over 500,000 followers on Instagram and is a safe place for women ranging from sizes of XS TO XXL.

5. Emilys World @_emilysworld 

 Emily’s World is a fairly recent following of mine, having only came across her account several weeks ago. However, I’m already obsessed with the content she is producing, ranging from yummy recipes to serious posts regarding mental health and disordered eating. What I enjoy about Emily’s feed is, compared to the other amazing girls above, hers focusses more on mental health and keeping a positive mindset, always. Based on her Instagram pictures, Emily seems like such a fun loving, energetic and confident girl; which is why it’s so amazing to click on a particular post and read such a gorgeously written caption. With over 100k followers, it’s lovely to see Emily come from the same area as me, as it shows me that there are more inspiring girls, closer to home than I assumed. Her relatability is incredible and she brings me a sense of comfort knowing she also doesn’t know what her five year plan is, or that sometimes, she doesn’t have her sh*t together either. For something that’s not often thrown out there by popular influencers, I’m loving how normalised these real world problems are becoming, as well as knowing that it’ll be okay in the end. A particular caption I relate so much to is “I constantly feel like I am trying to “get back on track” with life at the moment. It’s like a weekly thing. When actually I need to give myself a break, take one step at a time and BREATHE.” Posts like these make me want to share to all of the friends and family, who I know are in a little funk, just to show them that it’s okay, and we’re all feeling it too! It’s so nice to be reminded that we’re all entitled to these feelings and that in the near future, we’ll be okay! I love Emily’s World for this and recommend her to everyone. 

Thanks for reading, and let me know any other lovely instagram girls you recommend me following too!

Cassie Moreland 

2nd December 2021

Cassie Moreland