Bethenny Frankel has made it very clear that she is not a fan of social media filters and the expectations they set for women, especially young girls. The Real Housewives of New York alum turned entrepreneur, who is the mother of an 11-year-old daughter, often speaks out against edited images that create unrealistic beauty standards.
To really drive her point home, Frankel recently shared an unfiltered photo of herself posing in underwear with a body positive message for her followers. “If I were a ‘filterer’ I would have gotten rid of my lines and my dark circles, but this is me at 50. #zeroglam #zerofilter,” she captioned the Instagram photo, which was posted on Tuesday.
“Why do I mention this all the time? Because I think it’s important for young women to know that being flawed is truthful and real, and that filtering yourself into someone fictitious is actually damaging to girls’ and women’s self esteem,” she continued. “It’s courageous and beautiful to be real at any age.”
The star snapped the selfie makeup-free, wearing only a black sports bra and pink Skinnygirl briefs from her shapewear collection. “I realize that fake and filtered sells,” Franked added, concluding her message, “but I’m happy over here with my followers who appreciate the difference.”
Frankel is no stranger to public scrutiny. Her looks have been the target of criticism since the start of the RHONY franchise, and her SkinnyGirl brand has been called out for promoting a certain body-type. So while fans flocked to the comments to applaud Frankel for her realness, it was no surprise that others used the opportunity to point out what they see as hypocrisy.
“You look fabulous… but [maybe] lose the boob job and Botox… hair color then tell women and young girls how beautiful being real is. I’m not hatin, I’m just sayin,” one follower wrote. Frankel responded: “I don’t have hair color in. My roots are gray & I haven’t had a haircut in a very long time. I had a lift years ago Bc I had very saggy boobs since high school.”
Whatever you may think of her, like most us, it seems like Bethenny Frankel’s view on body image and how women are portrayed in media is evolving. A simple scroll through her Instagram will show a number of unedited photos with similar messages as the one above.
Earlier this week, she posted another no-makeup selfie to make her point about filters. “Zero glam. Zero filter. #sundayvibes #shadyvibes,” she captioned the pic (above).
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