Aussie blogger's bloat shoot is so hilariously relatable

‘I think it’s kinda cute.’ Photo: Instagram/karinairby
‘I think it’s kinda cute.’ Photo: Instagram/karinairby

Australian bikini designer Karina Irby isn’t shy about showing the reality behind what one might consider the ‘perfect’ Instagram snap.

She is constantly reminding her one million followers that behind every envy-inducing image is actually real life. And sometimes real life isn’t as perfect as it might look on your social media feed.

Her latest post does just that with the all too common problem of bloating, and it’s so hilariously relatable.

Sharing two photos of herself, Karina cradles her bloated belly as though it’s a baby in the hope it will help “normalise the bloat”.

“I wanted to help normalise what all of as, as females, go through on a daily basis,” Karina told Yahoo Lifestyle.

I want women to realise that what they go through on a day-to-day basis is fine, normal and beautiful! I want them to scroll through Instagram and feel comfortable, safe and good about themselves.”

The photos were taken right after Karina got out of the bath, and she said she “developed the cutest little pot belly from the sitting in the heat.

“I get a bloated belly from a few things,” she wrote in her Instagram post, explaining that heat and too much food are triggers, as well as being two weeks into her cycle.

“The bloat is normal and I think it’s kinda cute! So naturally I took some pics to see what I’d look like pregnant.”

Karina wants women to know it’s okay to be themselves, and that being themselves is completely normal, despite what one might see online.

Days after sharing her bloat photo, the Moana Bikini designer also took to Instagram to call out advertising companies for using her images inappropriately.

“Lately I’ve been seeing my three-second transformation photo doing the reposting rounds on Instagram,” she wrote in the post.

“Companies are advertising my photo for their surgical and non-surgical procedures for cellulite and post pregnancy baby bump procedures.

“This is could not be any further from the truth.”

Seeing her images misrepresented has left Karina feeling angry.

“And it’s not because they are using my images in an unauthorised manner to promote their business (which is bad enough) but it’s because they propagating unrealistic and downright false body norms,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.

“With these business running these types of ads, and lying about the real meaning behind them, they are forcing people to feel negative emotions, just for the way they’re born… and that’s just not right in my eyes.

“I feel great pleasure in calling them out for who and what they really are.”

She said she took the original photos to remind women not to compare themselves to “pretty ‘insta girl’ photos” online.

Karina is a big fan of revealing how much photoshopping might actually be behind plenty of the snaps we see online.

She regularly shares short videos showing before and after versions of photoshopped images of herself.

“Sometimes I like to photoshop my images and see what I’d look like if I was ‘social media perfect,’” she said previously.

“Seems crazy. But what’s crazier is that we all fall into the trap.”

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