Ulrikke Falch, "Skam" Star, Redefines Beauty on Instagram
TW: Eating Disorders
If you keep up with popular LGBTQIA+ teenage culture, you have probably seen some snaps of the adorable couple from the Norwegian drama "Skam" (translated in English as "Shame"). As these posts are supposedly the confessions of I, a 21st century chick, I will confess.
I am obsessed.
The show itself takes place in Norway and follows around different teens from a friend group throughout their high school experience. Each character experiences shame in their own form, as many of us often do in this period of our lives.
Ulrikke Falch plays Vilde, who is shown in several episodes to have an obsession with exercise and developing eating disorder. The show does an excellent job at showing the normalization of eating disorders in society as well as what can be done if you recognize a friend showing signs of disordered eating habits. The actress plays the role very convincingly. However, her healthy and body positive attitude on social media has been especially empowering for me- someone who has struggled with disordered eating and body shaming myself for years.
As Ulrikke has gained more following over the years, she utilizes her voice through Instagram to redefine her meaning of beauty to help others accept themselves as beautiful. Whether it be shaking her body, dancing around in her underwear, or overlaying silly videos with audio descriptions about the meaning of feminism, her posts constantly inspire the viewer to think critically about society's standards on women.
In this post, Falch uses the high fashion advertisement to create a larger conversation about hyper sexualization of women and the underrepresentation of people of color in popular media. This allows her followers to consider the power of media and furthermore how it has normalized misogyny.
Her lighthearted picture matched with the empowering message in her caption shows what a positive and accepting environment she has created for her followers.
Ulrikke reminds us that we should feel beautiful no matter the circumstances, "A body carries strength, sorrow, happiness and abilities. We need to start valuing our body as a part of our life and story. Not as something to improve, or separate from ourselves".
If you would like to see more of Ulrikke, a link to her instagram is below:
If you or someone you know are struggling with an eating disorder and are looking for ways to help, below are some links to organizations and hotlines that can help get on the road to recovery.
USA: National Eating Disorders Association
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
Hotline: (800) 931-2237
Canada: National Eating Disorder Information Centre
Helpline open until 9pm EST : Toll FREE 1-866-633-4220 Toronto 416-340-4156
Photo Courtesy of:
https://www.instagram.com/ulrikkefalch/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5288312/
