Mia Khalifa is no stranger to sharing images of herself on the internet.
After just three months in the pornographic industry, the former adult star has since been a prolific model, sports commentator and social media personality.
Regularly sharing photos and stories with her 15.7 million followers, Khalifa often posts insights into her personal life, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at her modelling shoots.
Her latest update is no different, as the 26-year-old shared a photo aimed at encouraging body positivity, and for others to stop editing photos beyond recognition.
Earlier this month, Khalifa shared a detailed video about the reconstructive surgery she had to undergo in order to fix a ‘hockey puck breast injury’, which left her with a ‘deflated’ breast.
Khalifa was watching a Stanley Cup Playoff game in 2018 when a wayward ice hockey puck went flying into her chest at 80mph, rupturing her left breast implant.
Posting on Instagram, she wrote:
You can say anything you want about me and my decisions, but one thing that no one can argue is my transparency on social media. I don’t hide behind filters or make things out to be better than they are. Sometimes things are ugly, and bloody, and boring, and covered in hormonal breakouts, but that is life and I will always embrace it.
This was my decision behind sharing my surgery journey with @drjaycalvert, I could go on and on about what he did to fix my hockey puck breast injury, but i won’t because I could never be as eloquent as he is, just watch the video for yourself.
You can watch the surgery video here:
Now, the 26-year-old has taken to Instagram again to try and encourage others not to heavily edit or Photoshop their pictures, saying she always asks for ‘imperfections to be left in’ during photo shoots.
She wrote:
There’s a difference between editing and color correcting. I always ask for my rolls and stretch marks and imperfections to be left in, and to just have the color enhanced overall.
Women need to stop posting photos edited and FaceTuned within an inch of their lives, you’re unrecognizable and unrealistic.
Check it out:
Many of her followers agreed with the message too, saying we all ‘have imperfections and we should embrace them’.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.