Mum vlogger Tova Leigh has won over many viewers with her honest and funny observations on motherhood.
Using her Youtube channel, My Thoughts About Stuff, she tackles the reality of being a modern mum. Topics like social-media shaming, sex after having kids, and all the embarrassing and gross moments of motherhood are touched upon.
Tova also keeps an active presence on Instagram, where the mum-of-three shares many intimate moments with her children, and candid photos where she's not afraid to document the toll of motherhood on her body.
Earlier this month, Tova posted a selfie which racked up hundreds of likes and complimentary comments from friends and fans - but only now is she revealing the 'truth' behind it.
Tova used her following to address body positivity and the facade of physical perfection that social media allows us to hide behind. Writing on Facebook and Instagram, she revealed what the previous popular selfie was all about: "Last week I shared the 'perfect' selfie on Instagram.
"It got a whole lot of 'likes', friends told me I was sexy, and I even made it my new profile picture on Facebook. Today, I am sharing the 'behind the scenes' of that image."
Tova made the bold move of showing off a candid, full-body shot of herself, without the cropping and coloured filter that accompanied the first shot.
She said, "Today I am sharing the 'behind the scenes' of that image. How I actually looked when it was taken, without 20 attempts to get it right, without cropping out the bits I don't like, and without adding the 'make me look pretty' filter."
"THIS IS REAL. In all my mum-tum, cellulitis, granny pants and absolutely zero thigh gap glory! Not the perfect sexy body by some dictated standard, but imperfectly fabulous because it is real, and it is mine."
The internet has given us many 'sexy' photo and selfie trends: thigh gaps, bikini bridges, thigh brows. Tova told her followers how easy it is to craft the perfect image online.
"Next time you see a 'perfect' image on IG or FB that makes you feel bad, remember this: social media is full of shit. You are beautiful just the way you are. And there is nothing sexier than being real."
We admire Tova for joining a number of brave women who have taken to social media to show off their 'unperfect' body. Earlier this year, Lacey Barratt was praised for her hilarious take on Kim Kardashian's post-birth body pic.
Writing on Instagram again, the mum-of-three praised Kardashian for showing off her body but also called out Facebook's double-standards when it came to censoring pictures. Facebook's (and Instagram's) 'no nudity' policy often sees non-sexual photos of breastfeeding and post-birth recovery removed from the site.
"Let's be very, very careful not to have the same double-standard Facebook has. Neither one of these images are sexual. Just two women's bodies at two very different times in their postpartum walks."
