Curated, curated grams :D
- amordidoiwrite
- Sep 18, 2017
- 6 min read
"Health and happiness at any size"
This Instagram page is what self love looks like ! In 2017 I'd like to say that western society has come along way from thinking that one body specific body type is the 'right' one but the truth is we haven't. Most retailers still consider a size 12 to be plus size! With the growing popularity of an 'hourglass' figure in popular culture among girls, I started to think we were heading into a good direction of embracing different body types however even from that it seems we've taken a weird turn and have somehow ended up with girls back to wearing corsets and drinking appetite reducing teas to yet again fit another 'perfect' and unattainable body type.
Allisbonyt on Instagram is a self love goddess, embracing more than just her (for lack of a better term) 'plus-size' figure but flaunting it in every angle, every skin fold, every jiggle and bounce. The page is a collection of inspirational, positive messages and selfies that exude confidence and defiance against conventions of beauty.
The reason for chairs in a shopping mall
If you're looking for a good laugh this Instagram page is it. Suggested by it's title this page is quite literally miserable men, left by their husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers etc. to rot away in a shopping mall sofa. The photographs are low quality and candid, showing the men in their purest form. It is hilarious because it is so true to what we see in malls, yet publishing it on a huge platform for the world to see is something else. These are moments that the subject surely wasn't happy in, they look angry, some sleeping, annoyed and fed up but we can sit on our phones and laugh along because it so naturally and so beautifully pure and true.
Body 'flaws' are but an illusion
This Instagram page collates stories sent in from men and women who have struggled and are struggling with any type of so-called body 'abnormalities', be it genetic, hormonal, from physical trauma etc. What is so special about this page that separates it from the rest of the 'Body positive' Instagram community can be summed up in two parts.
The first is that the majority of the images sent to and posted by the administrator (page admin) do not aim to be 'attractive'. They are of human bodies in their natural form, raw, not posed and unedited (although due to Instagram's policy they do have to edit over breasts because for some reason in the 21st century people are still deathly afraid of a woman's nipple).
The second is that the entries are not always 'positive' ( and they don't need to be, to be inspiring). A lot of women talk about how they are struggling to accept themselves, how they are insecure or how their situation is worsening. The ability to be so vulnerable and expose yourself on a platform with a huge following is inspiring. It also creates an opportunity for the Instagram community users to come together and support and relate to these women (and sometimes men).
All in all this page teaches us one thing ! Body flaws do not not exist.
Inked
Tattooing has been apart of human culture supposedly since the start of man ( apparently the 'mark' that God gave Cain as punishment for killing his brother was a tattoo) hence the negative connotations around this type of body modification.
However tattoos are a positive part off many cultures, often as a tradition of beauty, a right of passage or tribal marking. Travelinmicktattoo shares the rich tattoo cultures around the world through his posts. Very different from western tattoo styles, it's hard not to be amazed!This page is an art gallery on a human canvas !
Who cares about Kanye West
Now this is a bit of a strange one in the bunch. Basically it is just a collection of photographs of the music artist Kanye West doing ordinary things. You may think it sounds stupid and pointless and you'd be right. It is. But I think that is what is fascinating about this Instagram account. There is no real point to it yet somehow 896,000 people including myself seem to be interested (with no idea why) in the life of this pop star. I think that speaks volumes of what our society is like in 2017, we like to witness people's ordinary lives and find the beauty in it because we hope it relates to us. It's strange, creepy and yet a little fascinating at the same time how much time we invest in other humans.
Hate the idea or love it, it's hard not to be a little curious.
Your favourite grandma
I can guarantee you have never seen a grandma as fierce as and fabulous as Baddie. She's eccentric, ruthless, limitless, fashion forward, hilarious and she was born in 1928. She destroys what is means to be 'old'. Her Instagram is a visceral sight! Colourful bold and fearless the only word I can think of while scrolling through her feed is 'joy'.
A pot smoking, bikini wearing, gay pride supporting, white 89 year old, you don't get a lot of them so her presence online is huge (3.2million followers huge). What makes her Instagram amazing is this ever present theme of self love, acceptance and human beauty. Instagram being a predominantly Gen Y/Z platform, it is inspiring to see a member of the silent generation immerse herself into the craziness of 2017. Not a single boring post, put her on your 'to follow' list now !
No man is an island
A photoblog started up in 2010, Humans of New York is a series of candid, portrait style photographs accompanied by a quote from the person's conversation with Brandon Staton (creator of HNY). In this page we find beauty in ordinary people off the street, what makes them beautiful is the stories they have to tell, raw and unedited.
Even in a small city like Auckland, with the digital age overtaking our lives, it is too easy to look at people at a surface level because their online presence is so readily available to us. What is becoming increasingly hard is to understand people, face to face through conversation. HNY's Instagram page lets it's followers 'meet' and understand ordinary people, relate to them, admire them and come to new realisations about themselves. All while being completely unintentional. The only aim being to expose it's followers to the stories of people, the follower is moved by their own resonance !
Festivals take the digital stage
More than just a promotional page for 'Afropunk' the music/arts festival, this Instagram page showcases the beauty of black culture as well as advocating for important political and social issues. One way this page supports movements is by having series of posts that all pertain to one topic for example one series they have is the hashtag #POLITICSOFSTYLE in which fashion focused photographs of black men and women are posted and talk about how their clothing is a political statement (link)
The page combines and promotes all forms of expressions I.e dances, music, art and fashion to create an overall vibrant and powerful feed. Each square is just saturated aesthetic beauty and deeper meaning. I wish you sore thumbs ! Happy scrolling !
Lost in history, found in the present
The people that defined 20th century USA and English popular culture, this Instagram page will bring you back to the peak moments of iconic public figures. A crossroads of photojournalism, pop culture and art, followers of this Instagram page come to reminisce and explore a past world's beauty. It is set up almost like a photo album, unlike several of the other pages I have listed, this Instagram page focuses directly on the photographs with the captions being only an obvious description of the post and a date.
So if you're looking for a place to spend hours scrolling through aesthetically pleasing vintage photographs you've hit the jackpot!
Inside Vietnam
A stunning visual portfolio by French photographer Rehahn, 'rehahn_photogrpahy' captures breathtaking portraits of either Vietnamese children or the elderly (two of the most delicate and vulnerable stages of human life). Most photographs are close up or extreme close up, displaying every fine detail of the persons face, their expression and the soul behind their eyes. Here, followers of the page are connected to a culture that is a world away, made available directly by the photographer himself. In this way the followers engage with his photo journey and his subjects constantly in a way that books or exhibitions have not been able to achieve.
If you're a poor millennial (like me) and are looking for a way to expose yourself to the beauty of other ethnic groups but won't buy a ticket to a photography exhibition, this Instagram page is a perfect entry point !
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