Canadian influencer gets real about 'potentially damaging' body comments
Sarah Nicole Landry is reminding her followers to think before they comment.
Over the weekend, the Canadian influencer, also known as The Birds Papaya, took to Instagram to share a set of body positive photos with her 2.2 million followers alongside a detailed caption about commenting on people's bodies.
In the post, the Guelph, Ont.-native shared two photos. In the first, the mother-of-four cradled her newborn child in a nursery illuminated by light from large windows. On the screen, Landry shared screenshots of Instagram comments such as "did she even have a baby" and "how don't you have a postpartum body."
In the second snap, the self-love advocate shared a mirror selfie of her in a black bra and beige panties while showing off her stretch marks.
In the caption, the "Papaya Podcast" host opened up about how seemingly positive comments can actually be damaging.
"No these comments weren’t for me...they were for a fellow mother on her own postpartum journey days after birth. Her individual journey. Her individual body. And yet, such reactions from onlookers: 'respect,' 'goals,' 'snap back queen,' 'what baby?'" Landry explained. "I’ve personally never heard these comments and I’m thankful (in a way?). I can’t help but see the damage this could cause all the readers, the future birthers and the woman herself — a body seen as her greatest achievement (and the silent threat of losing that with time or change)."
The social media star went on to explain that when she received compliments, she was actually feeling "low," and reminded her followers to be careful what they post.
"Body comments, we say, are never OK. But did we consider the positive ones to be potentially damaging too? The reality is — we have no idea what anyone is going through. At the height of my own body compliments was at a low in my life...From the surface, I was an accomplishment. Beneath it, I was falling apart," she said. "...remember that even a positive body comment, may be a negative one. We just never know."
Fans were quick to agree with Landry's message and share their experiences with body comments.
"Positive body comments were one of the biggest driving factors of my eating disorder. We are so much more than our body and there are so many better things to comment on!" commented a follower.
"Thank you for sharing this. So important!" wrote a fan.
"A few months ago I lost some weight (not sure why, I wasn’t actively trying) and got a lot of comments of how good I looked. Well I gained the weight back and now it’s crickets," shared someone else. "Trying to be kind to myself...your posts help!"
Last week, Landry penned a message about curves and self-love.
"Why are some curves praised and others torn down? Gonna praise my curves today just where they are. Because hating on them is like, the worst," she wrote in the caption alongside a video of her posing in her bathroom.
On the screen, Landry typed the words "Not all curves are t*** and a**" to highlight the fact that certain "desired" parts of the female body are admired, while others — like the stomach — are not, which is something her body positive posts are aiming to change.
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