karinairby/InstagramAn Instagram bikini model has garnered support from her fans for representing body positivity, after she gained 10kg and shared her transformation.
For good or for bad, weight-related narratives dictated by modern day beauty standards, often see women praised for losing the pounds on their journeys to healthier bodies and minds.
But Karina Irby, from Australia, is subverting the norm. She says she has never felt better after putting on 10kg – the equivalent of one-and-a-half stone.
Karina came to social media as a teen weighing 54kg, nine years ago.
Upon receiving one of those pesky Facebook memory notifications, Karina, now 29, was ‘shocked’ to see how ‘skinny’ she used to look at 19.
It spurred her on to share a photograph of her old physique, and herself now, weighing a healthy and – more importantly, happy – 64kgs.
She also welcomed a different attitude to her ‘boob, butt, hip, and thighs’, per News.com.au.
In the social post, Karina wrote:
This morning Facebook notified me of a memory from 9 years ago. I was so shocked to see how tiny I used to be when I was a teenager!”
I remembered that as my body was maturing I was gaining weight, curves and more fake reasons to feel self-conscious about my appearance.
I used to put so much pressure on myself to try and keep my teenager look but not only was it unhealthy, it just wasn’t in the cards for me.
After gaining 10kgs, she said:
I’ve never felt better about myself mentally and physically. What I’m trying to say is stop being so hard on yourself. Your body is beautiful and it’s keeping you alive! Worship the heck out of it! I wish I did sooner.
You can see the transformation post below:
Still, she the owner of Moana Bikini does get trolled for her weight, because people just love to tell women what to do with their bodies.
But she recently ‘clapped back’, taking to social media to say:
Trolls will comment that I’m now ‘fat’ BUT in reality I’m a happy, healthy lady. I was pretty unhealthy in my first photo. Not eating right and not taking care of my body.
Yes I’ve gained weight, both fat and muscle but I’m now training four times a week and eating for my body. It’s crazy what eating and weights can do.
Who cares what she looks like, anyway? Self-acceptance is the best beach accesory in 2019, didn’t you know?
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.