Model’s Before-and-After Underwear Photos Expose Social Media Secrets

Elise Solé
Social media don’t always tell the truth about body perfection. (Photo: Instagram/marcielhopkins)
Social media don’t always tell the truth about body perfection. (Photo: Instagram/marcielhopkins)

One supermodel’s before-and-after photos are sending a powerful message about body perfection: “Don’t be fooled by what you see on social media or in magazines.”

On Tuesday, Marciel Hopkins, a plus-size model and former Miss South Africa finalist, posted two Instagram photos of herself wearing a white bra and underwear set. In one, she sits hunched over while running her hand through her long brown hair. In the other, she’s carefully posed to show off her chiseled stomach. “Let’s talk about angles and poses,” Hopkins wrote to her 40,000 followers. “Different poses end up giving different results. These 2 pictures were taken 5 minutes apart from each other, although the one shows a flat stomach and the other one shows my tummy flab. Same body, same day, different position.”

Hopkins added, “Don’t be fooled by what you see on social media or in magazines. We are definitely not sitting or standing in the flattering poses that we see on Instagram or in glamour magazines all the time (that will be a workout in itself).”

Let's talk about angles and poses. Different poses end up giving different results. These 2 pictures were taken 5 minutes apart from each other, although the one shows a flat stomach and the other one shows my tummy flab. Same body, same day, different position. Don't be fooled by what you see on social media or in magazines. We are definitely not sitting or standing in the flattering poses that we see on Instagram or in glamour magazines all the time (that will be a workout in itself). We are human. We take our bras off when we get home and we wear a T-shirt on the days we are bloated. Models, celebrities and all of us post pictures that show the best and most beautiful angles of ourselves, which is great! We all deserve to look and feel fabulous. BUT you can't compare your academic, no-bra day with the perfectly airbrushed images in the magazine you are flipping through while procrastinating. It's not realistic. You are beautiful and worthy without airbrush, make up or the perfect pose. Happy Human Rights day! Photo credits: @janaengelbrechtphoto #bodypositive #bodypositivety #healthnotsize #beautybeyondsize #inshapemyshape #bopo #angles #poses #dontbefooled #lingerie #whitelace #curvemodel #curves #bebodyaware #embracethesquish #droptheplus #iamallwoman

A post shared by Marciel Hopkins (@marcielhopkins) on Mar 20, 2017 at 10:56pm PDT

She also wrote, “We are human. We take our bras off when we get home and we wear a T-shirt on the days we are bloated.” She reminded fans that celebrities post only the most carefully curated selfies. Of the 8,000 comments posted in response, many told the model that she was “beautiful” and encouraged her to “Keep pushing for change.”

Lately, a slew of models, bloggers, and celebrities have been flocking to social media to share “transformation photos” — before-and-after shots taken mere moments apart to reveal how good lighting, practiced poses, and specific angles can result in drastically different images. The body-positive movement is occurring at a time when mainstream fashion is broadening its beauty ideals (think plus-size model Ashley Graham on the covers of Vogue and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue), and celebrities are getting real about so-called body perfection.

“We have nutritionists, we have dietitians, we have trainers, we have our own schedules, we have nannies,” Chrissy Teigen recently told Today. Even Kylie Jenner has confessed that she takes 500 selfies per day to achieve the perfect shot, and Kim Kardashian follows three golden rules: “You need good lighting, obviously. Always take your selfie from above, angling down. And know your own angles.”

In January, blogger Sara Puhto showed her 66,000 Instagram followers how different her body could look with a strategic pose. She wrote, “I wanted to share this because I know how it feels to go through Instagram and see photos of people looking amazing on the beach — which are usually planned and not candid, that’s why they look so good.”

Not a transformation photo ???????????? These were taken a few seconds apart while I was at the beach the other day, the photo on the left is what I look like relaxed and not posing, basically how I look 99% of the time in a bikini! And the one on the right is how I look in good lighting, flexed and posing ???? I wanted to share this because I know how it feels to go through Instagram and see photos of people looking amazing on the beach- which are usually planned and not candid, that's why they look so good. So don't get caught up on how they look and compare that to your everyday relaxed body. It is completely normal to not have abs or look lean all the time! Love the body you have in all its forms, especially when you see it in "bad" lighting, angles and completely relaxed. You are beautiful and shouldn't have to go through life disliking how you look! I hope you all have an amazing day ????☀️

A post shared by Sara Puhto (@saggysara) on Jan 12, 2017 at 2:41am PST

In November, Puhto sent a similar message by sharing two photos of herself — in one shot, she stood straight, while in the other she was in the “booty pop position” to reveal how curvy her bottom could appear.

Not a progress photo ???????? Since its #humpday I thought it would be appropriate to post a booty pic ???? I thought I'd show my booty from its normal straight leg standing position vs a posed booty pop position ???? cause in a world where the Kardashian's bootys are so glorified, we need to remember that the photos we see of them and others aren't always reality. Their butts can't ALWAYS look that big from every angle ???? Same goes with photos on Instagram, we see them as goals and think we'll never be able to gain that much muscle or lose that much fat, but what you need to remember is that those photos you see are achievable, you can get to your goals, you can achieve anything with the right amount of determination, patience and effort! Don't think you can't because you're comparing a posed photo of a body to your everyday body. Use them as motivation but don't get too caught up on them. YOU are beautiful and can do anything you put your mind to. I hope you have an amazing day ????☀️

A post shared by Sara Puhto (@saggysara) on Nov 16, 2016 at 2:08am PST

Fitness blogger Anna Victoria posted two photos of herself in January wearing the same bikini — one shot showed her sculpted abs, the other her natural stomach folds. Her caption: “Me 1% of the time vs. 99% of the time.”

Me 1% of the time vs. 99% of the time. And I love both photos equally. Good or bad angles don't change your worth ❤️ I recently came across an article talking about how one woman stated she refuses to accept her flaws, because she doesn't see them as flaws at all. I LOVED that because it sends such a powerful message that our belly rolls, cellulite, stretch marks are nothing to apologize for, to be ashamed of, or to be obsessed with getting rid of! As I'm getting older, I have cellulite and stretch marks that aren't going away, and I welcome them. They represent a life fully lived (for 28 years so far :)) and a healthy life and body at that. How can I be mad at my body for perfectly normal "flaws"? This body is strong, can run miles, can lift and squat and push and pull weight around, and it's happy not just because of how it looks, but because of how it feels. So when you approach your journey, I want you to remember these things: I will not punish my body I will fuel it I will challenge it AND I will love it ???????????? If you're following my page, you're a part of helping me spread this message and creating this movement – thank you. #fbggirls www.annavictoria.com/guides

A post shared by Snapchat: AnnaVictoriaFit (@annavictoria) on Jan 16, 2017 at 3:12pm PST

In an effort to tell her followers that “not everything you see on the Internet is 100% truthful,” Australian blogger Beck Lomas shared a shockingly different split screen of herself wearing shorts and a bra top. “This transformation didn’t take months of hard work, sweat and dedication,” she wrote in October. “It took me two minutes, a quick flex of the core, a more attractive stance, and a nice filter.”

I like to post a photo like this every few months to remind you all that not everything you see on the internet is 100% truthful. This transformation didn't take months of hard work, sweat and dedication. It took me two minutes, a quick flex of the core, a more attractive stance, and a nice filter. What I'm trying to show Is that different angles of your body can give you a completely different look, so a lot of accounts will understandably only show you photos from the best angles, with their favourite filters and lighting, does that mean they look amazing 100% of the time? No, but that's the only side they'll show you, so it's really important not to get too down on yourself when feeling envious of people you follow on social media. It's also important to understand a lot of before and afters you see floating around the Internet can be really….well… Fake. This photo for instance, if you had never seen it before and I posted it with a caption saying "OMG look at my progress after only 8 weeks on the ______ diet" you would probably believe me and think "wow this diet actually looks pretty good!". While in reality, you now know that these photos were taken on the same day. This isn't to say that EVERY before and after you see on the Internet is fake, because a lot of them are probably real, just don't believe absolutely everything you see or read. If it's coming from one of those shake diet or detox tea pages there may be a good chance that it's fake! Moral of the story- don't get too caught up in the beautiful social media accounts of people who seemingly have the "perfect life", most accounts will only show you the best version of themselves, and that's okay but it's not always the "only" side of them ????????

A post shared by BECK JACKSON (@becklomas) on Oct 25, 2016 at 6:02pm PDT

And in February, fitness blogger Madalin Giorgetta shared her “30-second transformation” in two photos that portrayed her at vastly different-appearing weights. “I don’t look like either in real life,” she wrote. “In real life I’m not flexing like on the right and I’m not pushing my hips forwards like in the left.”

30 second transformation ???????? I don't look like either in real life… in real life I'm not flexing like on the right and I'm not pushing my hips forwards like in the left. Real life isn't what you see on Instagram peeps ???????? in real life I'm demanding cuddles off my boyfriend, I'm chasing my cat around the house or I'm doing an in-depth analysis of Married at First Sight with my friends ???????????? what are you guys like in real life? Tell meeeee ???????? (heaps of questions on outfit, it's from @bringsportswear ????)

A post shared by Madalin Giorgetta (@madalingiorgetta) on Feb 16, 2017 at 5:28pm PST

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