Women in Focus

'Cellulite Saturday' Is The New Body-positive Instagram Trend Calling Bullsh*t On Beauty Ideals

by Helen Turnbull Published on 3 November 2016

Smother yourself in X cream, do Y butt-toning exercise - As women, we're constantly promised we can (and should) banish cellulite forever with this miracle cream or that foolproof leg lift, but one body activist is calling for females everywhere to stop hating and to start celebrating their dimpled derrières. Enter: Canadian vlogger Kenzie Brenna - the body-positive ambassador who's at the helm of the empowering movement that aims to put an end to cellulite shaming.

We could all learn a thing or two from Kenzie Brenna - the actress and writer turned body activist who's single-handedly normalising cellulite one Instagram post at a time. Brenna is calling bullsh*t on the unrealistic beauty ideal that women's derrières should be dimple-free by sharing no-frills photos of her backside and she's encouraging fellow females to follow suit in her protest against heavily-edited pictures as part of #CelluliteSaturday.

Brenna - whose suffered with body dysmorphia in the past - and #CelluliteSaturday are here to remind us that it's perfectly normal to have lady lumps and bumps ("it's just a thing our bodies do", she proclaims), so much so that 93% of women have some, somewhere on their bodies, supermodels and athletes included. The body-positive hashtag #CelluliteSaturday was born last month when Brenna posted a warts-and-all Instagram image of her bum and thighs - in which her dimples are clearly visible - as a big fingers up to the typical standard of altered visuals that fill the photo-sharing app.

#cellulitesaturday? Can that be a thing? Last time I posted a picture of me TRYING to embrace a part of my body that I have been trying to change forever, 2 things happened. 1. A lot of women and even a few men came forward and said amazinggggg things like "thanks, your dope I need this, I NEED to see more of this, I WANT to see more of this, keep doing what you're doing, yes to normal bodies, etc." the incredible comments kept going, of people sharing their own struggles with trying to accept their bodies, to some women who don't even have cellulite embracing my body - THAT my friends is what this bopo community is all about. 2. Second thing that happened was obviously, the opposite. "Disgusting, gross, cellulite is not healthy, don't encourage kids or women to be unhealthy, nasty, wtf, if you exercise or rub cream or do-this-thing-that-makes-no-sense it will help you get rid of it" that shit went on, in my DM's and in the public comments. I am not going to sit here and write to you what cellulite is, what it ISN'T or try to bang it into your head that yes, my dear friends "thin + healthy + fit" women also have cellulite, I am going to let you do your own research. You have google and you have can DM if you want to have a CONVERSATION exchanging opinions, facts and resources to help us BRIDGE gaps instead of create bigger ones. I exercise 5x a week, I will murder you at cardio (my cardiovascular system is off the hizzy), I foam roll, I do yoga, I stretch, I eat my greens and I drink over a gallon of water every day. I used to use creams, I used to dry brush, I got massages and considered surgery. SO, don't tell me that I have to be more fit, more healthy, more this, more that, don't tell me to try your cream or that I need to create more blood flow to the places where my cellulite exists. Cause bish, I got chu. Been there done that. My friends, my cellulite is here to stay. And I am fucking okay with that. #bodyacceptance #celluliteyoualrite #namaslay #thisiswhatfitlookslike #embracethesquish #mesosquishy #mermaidthighs #iamallwoman #tbcr 🌈😊🌸😊🌸😊🌸😊🌈

A photo posted by Kenzie B (@omgkenzieee) on Sep 24, 2016 at 10:33am PDT

In the accompanying caption, she explained that despite exercising five times a week, eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water, she has cellulite and that's OK. Brenna hopes the self-loving initiative will go some way to removing the stigma attached to having so-called 'orange peel' and instead inspire girls to embrace their bodies the way they are, lumps and bumps included. "My friends, my cellulite is here to stay. And I am f**king OK with that," is Brenna's resounding message and I think it's something we can all get on board with.

🌤 HAPPY SATURDAY MORNING ☀️ It's also #cellulitesaturday, I realize I didn't post one last week. But I sorta wanna try to make it a thing. The word cellulite still makes me cringe. It still makes me wanna run and hide and not come out and I have somehow lipsuctioned it out of me or try to dry brush it into the dark places of the universe. That's really not the fucking case. The only way to get rid of cellulite is to lose overall fat. With overall fatloss, your body may lose fat in the areas that you have celluli- AND HERES THE JOOCEY PART, YOUR BODY MAY ALSO ✨NOT✨ LOSE FAT FROM THOSE AREAS.💞 Because we cannot spot reduce (stop it, we can't, pls don't comment and say you can I'll just delete you misinforming people) you can't pick or choose whether or not you are a person who can reduce your appearance of cellulite. Notice how I said appearance. Appearance because cellulite LITERALLY translates to the appearance of fat cells. And because we will forever have fat cells at some percentage or another, for women (and some men,) you can't really avoid this baby. We all have it to some degree or another. It's not an indication of health or fitness level or self worth. ITS A COSMETIC "ISSUE." It's just a thing our bodies do. It's just a thing our bodies do. It's just a fucking thing our bodies do. It's that simple. And the beauty industry capitalizes on it. Imagine if a unicorn was chopping off its horn because it's culture says so. We would tell that beautiful unicorn that it's bananas for doing something like that. 🦄🌸💕 No. Just no. Like I said in my previous cellulite posts, it's difficult for me to accept, but I eat my greens, I drink my water, I foam roll, I'm at the gym 5x a week, I have Epsom salt baths, I've dry brushed, got "cellulite massages", tried creams and considered getting surgery. So don't tell me a way to "fix it." I'm over it 🙅🚫 #celluliteacceptance #endbodyshame #thisiswhatfitlookslike #boldandbeautiful

A photo posted by Kenzie B (@omgkenzieee) on Oct 8, 2016 at 6:03am PDT

On her hopes for #CelluliteSaturday, she told SELF: "[Cellulite] isn't an indication of health and it isn't an indication of self-worth. I hope that when people click on the hashtag, they recognize [cellulite] is a part of our bodies that can be totally acceptable and we don’t have to get rid of it. This is just another aspect of having a physical body."

IF YOU TRY TO SELL ME YOUR CELLULITE TREATMENT, I DON'T WANT IT. 😷 Now thats out of the way... This girl goes to the gym 4-5x a week. She weightlifts, includes cardio and plyometrics, she eats a personal well balanced diet and has for the last year. For those of you who comment and tell me "if you only lost ten pounds your cellulite would go away," without having researched my page to see I have lost over 50 pounds and yes my cellulite appear has reduced but it has not "gone away." Here are the stats again: 93% of women have cellulite. AND- You have a 90% chance of developing cellulite if you're a woman. 🙆💕If those stats don't make you feel at home and normal in your body I don't know what will 💕🙆 We have made it a "COSMETIC issue" not an indication of health. This is straight from the doc's mouth, not mine. It has to do with a combination of genetics and hormones. Which you can really only fuck with to a certain extent. THE ONLY WAY TO REMOVE CELLULITE IS TO REMOVE FAT. Can you remove fat through a topical cream? By massaging it? By drinking green tea? By rubbing coconut oil on yourself? That's not how it works. Stop this misinformation right now. 👏Cellulite is normal. And the beauty industry capitalizes on saying we need it removed.👏 Again, I'm not going to shame a woman for trying to work to get rid of hers I completely understand and respect the decision to do so. This message isn't for her. This message is for women who crave acceptance, self love and want appreciation for their bodies as they exist right now. Also sorry for the dbl watermark, I saw some people using my photos and cropped out my name from them 🙃 how nice! #cellulitesaturday #mermaidthighs #effyourbeautystandards #bodypositivity #nobodyshame #lovetheskinyourein #thisiswhatfitlookslike

A photo posted by Kenzie B (@omgkenzieee) on Oct 29, 2016 at 6:56am PDT

Every Saturday, Brenna posts a collage of four images, showing the cellulite on her lower body, accompanied by an essay-style caption which reiterates just how normal it is to have visible and under-the-surface fat (the 'medical' definition of cellulite) somewhere on your body. The women of Instagram are already showing their support to Brenna by sharing their own #CelluliteSaturday images. See below for some of our favourites:-

Self love is not a destination. 📍 It's not like one day you arrive and the pursuit is over, and you just stop.🚫 Quite the contrary. And sometimes it won't feel like you're getting anywhere. Which is why you have to celebrate EVERY victory. 🎉🎉Every little thing that you have made the choice to do differently in order to open yourself up for self love. Like not feeling guilty about eating something. Eating in front of other people. Saying yes to an invite. Wearing shorts. Having your arms out. Asking for help. Not weighing yourself. Not avoiding the mirror. Choosing love over hate. Not feeling like it's your fault. Whatever it is, just let it sink in that YOU DID THAT!💕💖 On the flip side, the journey to self love will have many set backs, many times when you choose struggle over advancement. Many times you'll find yourself swirling down into that really scary pit you used to be in. 🌪 But you are strong. 💪And you have victories to remind you that you HAVE changed. 👏🏻And once you do something you've never done before, you're never the same. It can never be taken away from you. Even when you get there, to a place in your mindset that loving comes easy...even then you can't stop.👊🏻 I am not immune to bad days, triggers, obsessive thoughts, relapses, questions of my value...there will always be something new to try to continue to push you outside your comfort zone. And when you get the opportunity, just say yes, and the celebrate!💥 Sending lots of love! Just do you babes🙏🏻 Xoxo Allie

A photo posted by 🌴 ALLISON 🌸 Girl Power Guru 🙌🏻 (@allisonkimmey) on Oct 30, 2016 at 5:23pm PDT

Decided to be brave and raw with you guys. No filters, no editing, no cropping out my unmade bed/messy room. This is me. If you don't know, #CelluliteSaturday is a thing started by the beautiful @omgkenzieee. 93% of women have cellulite!! And while that statistic says the majority of women have it, think about how many of us try to get rid of it. The presence of cellulite is largely genetic, and im sorry to tell you that any topical cream is not going to get rid of it. I would be lying if I said i haven't tried to get rid of mine. I carry cellulite largely on my thighs and butt, especially underneath my butt. I workout 5 days a week, I eat a balanced diet, I drink lots of water, I foam roll every now and then. All of these things are said to be able to help reduce the presence of cellulite. But guess what? Who gives a fuck? lol. Honestly though. There are SO many other things that could be and ARE "flawed" about me. And if I have the "flaw" of cellulite than so be it. These "flaws" say nothing about me as a person, or who I am. This "flaw" that the majority of women have is considered a "flaw" because of the standards set by the beauty industry. Go look in a magazine, or any sort of ad with women showing skin and tell me if you see cellulite. The one company I know of that doesn't retouch the models is @aerie. But other than that, smooth skin with no evidence of cellulite is the so-called standard. And as women we constantly see that and then assume there's something wrong with us that needs to be fixed. My point is that if you have cellulite, you are not abnormal!! You aren't "flawed!" YOU aren't CELLULITE. You have cellulite. Just like you have eye boogers, ear wax, body hair, BO, split ends, stretch marks, moles, skin discolorations, acne, etc. These don't define you. Your character, heart, sense of humor, ability to understand. Those things define you and who you are as a person. Give yourself a break ladies. Much love😘❤️ #Cellulite #StretchMarks #LoveYourself

A photo posted by L e i g h a C h r i s t i n e (@leigha_lifts) on Oct 29, 2016 at 9:20am PDT

Grab your girl squad for the weekend and get ready for some good company, good laughs and good vibes 📷@loosecanonnyc ... #saturday #girlboss #selflove #lingerie #fitness #yoga #toronto #cellulitesaturday #loveyourself #ostomy

A photo posted by Knix Wear (@knixwear) on Oct 29, 2016 at 9:25am PDT