Some of the most powerful and viral videos on social media, have NOTHING to do with being picture perfect. It is often the real, raw, unfiltered images that do the best. Not because people are drawn to them in disgust, but for quite the opposite reason, because they are strikingly honest and beautiful. It is brave to put yourself out there for the world to see in the most unfiltered manner. This is what Jaycie of the Instagram handle @breakfastbake is striving to do. With her video getting over 11 million views, it is obvious that people are connecting with her mission.
The content we are referring to, is simple. It shows Jaycie wearing a pair of high-waisted denim pants with a crop top. The video is zoomed in to focus on her mid section. It shows that her stomach is flat when she stands up, but when she sits down, it gathers in numerous areas. The small text on the entire video says this: “you are normal.” It’s so straightforward and right to the point. We ALL can relate to this. It doesn’t matter how skinny or fit you are, we all will have rolls if we sit in a certain way. So (and we’re taking a lot of liberties here, as we interpret this), if we all have them, embrace them. Instead of getting down on yourself, praise your body for the things it allows you to do. If you can walk, that’s a blessing, if you can eat, that is a blessing, if you can go from here to there, that is a blessing. Focus on the things your body can do, and appreciate it for everything it is.
“You Are Normal”
Jaycie wants her videos to “[show] reality and [break] down standards.” She says that “is most important to [her], and [she wants] to make it a priority.” She goes on to say that she wants “to create the safest space for absolutely everybody, and completely [normalize] every single insecurity, different amongst everyone. [From] hatred to acceptance to self love, we’re all on this journey together <3.” To see some of her most powerful viral videos, check her out on Instagram. We have included a couple for you to watch, please take the time to view them below.
Stop Striving For The Impossible
This video is captioned as follows:
“my purpose, with everything I post, is to stop people from setting unachievable goals. to stop people from striving for the ‘impossible’.
that’s what I did. I wanted to lose weight and become society’s idea of ‘perfect’, basing my goals around posed posts on Instagram. and guess what? I reached that size and didn’t look like they did, so I thought ‘just a bit more, and then ‘just a bit more’, until I completely lost myself. I was never ever happy, actually even more unhappy than where I started.
this is because what you see on Instagram is literally IMPOSSIBLE !!! it’s not real! it’s one posed image out of a hundred, one ‘good’ angle. setting this false reality as a goal simply becomes an addiction. to see how far you can go, because maybe a little less would mean one less fold or crease. reality is, you’re skin will always have texture, always move, always fold, whether you sit, stand, move, dance. so does theirs, so does everyone’s. you’ll only be happy when you accept this, when you accept yourself from every angle, even the ones we don’t share on a regular basis.
true happiness will come when you base it on your inner self and not your body, this shell that simply holds YOU!! something so amazing, something so unique, so special ????????????????
so remember !! relax, breathe. your appearance is the least important part about you, and stop comparing yourselves to Instagram, because they most likely look similar to the second half of this video 99% of the time!!
love ya????”
Project Unfiltered
Jaycie adds this as the caption:
“a handful of small things we’ve been taught as being negatives. small things that are actually positives. they make you, you.
you wouldn’t think twice about them on anyone else. in fact, you’d probably think they’re remarkable, so be kinder to yourself????
— feel free to jump in on this project and share your own!! seeing how different we all are is just so cool!! tag me so i can see xx”
We hope this was as powerful for you as it was for us. Thank you, Jaycie, for your message. To read more on body positivity, please check out this article here.
