Chrissy Teigen is one of our favourite people on Twitter – and not because she fills our timelines with photos of her and John Legend’s unfeasibly cute baby daughter, Luna.
No, we’re fans of the supermodel because, when it comes to social media, she maintains a strict #nofilters policy. Teigen wants us to know that, despite her A-list status, her life isn’t perfect – that there’s actually no such thing as perfection.
Instead, she chooses to celebrate her stretchmarks, and awkward text conversations, and celebrity feuds. She has opened up about the fact that, like so many of us, she has experienced anxiety and depression. Teigen has fired back at claims that she and her husband are the embodiment of that annoying #relationshipgoals hashtag. And she has made no secret of her struggles to conceive, and her IVF journey.
Now, Teigen is once again doing her best to topple the myth of perfection by sharing a video of herself with a breakout of spots during her period.
All too aware of the fact that so many young women feel pressured to look a certain way, Teigen filmed herself during a hormonal breakout and uploaded the clip to her Twitter feed.
“This is my skin on my period,” she says, looking as if she’s just stepped out of (or is about to step into) the shower.
Then, leaning closer into the camera, Teigen presses at a red blemish on her nose and jokes: “Look at it… it’s so angry.”
It is, admittedly, a very brief clip – but it has gone down an absolute storm on Twitter, with countless people praising the model for being so open and honest.
“As the father of two young girls, it's reassuring to see a LITERAL model who is comfortable in her own imperfections,” wrote one. “A sincere thank you.”
Another added: “Thank you for making us feel less alone.”
There were some, though, who just didn’t get it.
“People don’t need to see this,” wrote one angry troll. “Keep it to yourself, Chrissy.”
Another, targeting Teigen’s fans, scathingly posted a tweet which read: “Why do people need celebrities to show their blemishes to make them feel better about themselves?”
As if his feelings on the matter weren’t clear enough, he made sure to underline them with a pointed hashtag: “#pathetic”.
Because almost every girl will get blemishes on their period. Good to know celebrities have to deal with it too.
— Laney (@aerionfallen) August 1, 2017
Refusing to let this comment slide, one woman responded: “Because every girl will get blemishes on their period. It’s good to know that celebrities have to deal with it too.”
And she has a point.
Various studies have indicated that social media can have a negative impact on our sense of self. It’s thought that relentlessly scrolling through other people’s feeds – and spending too much time making “negative social comparisons” – can be linked with feelings of envy, dissatisfaction and even depression.
Experts told stylist.co.uk that the best way to combat this jealousy is to “look at your own social media feeds.”
They continued: “Chances are, what you see is a highly edited version of your real life: the highlights, rather than the sad/tedious/ugly bits. Next time you find yourself comparing yourself to others through the lens of social media, remind yourself that nobody’s life is perfect – even if it seems like it on Facebook.”
For information and support about mental health issues, visit mind.org.uk.
Images: Rex Features
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