https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jun/30/celeste-barber-i-get-miffed-with-fashionistas-thinking-they-are-better-than-others






https://www.instagram.com/celestebarber/


Celeste Barber has a drinking game in her new standup show, called “Allowed; Not Allowed”. During the game the Australian comic displays social media snaps showing people in various stages of undress and asks the audience to guess which have been allowed to stay up and which have been taken down by the moderators.

Often the difference, she says, comes down to appearances: “One of them is a banging hot model and the other one is, well, me.”

Barber could be described as a social media star, entertaining her 1.8m Instagram followers every few days with posts that contrast often outlandish celebrity fashion images with real-life reenactments, all in aid of #celestechallengeaccepted.

There’s model Kate Upton smouldering in a wet T-shirt as she emerges from a swimming pool; there’s Barber clambering out of a pool, butt first. There’s a barely dressed Kim Kardashian posing against a pile of sand; there’s a similarly clad Barber reclining awkwardly against gravel.

The parodies are cheeky and funny – and speak volumes about the depiction of women in celebrity culture. And while it all started out as a joke exchanged between Barber and her sister before she put the pics online for everyone’s enjoyment, she’s also thrilled they resonate a deeper level.

“I never started out for it to be a body positive thing or be like, ‘ yeah’. It was always like, this is how celebrities get out of the pools [and] I’m like no, this is how you get out of the pool.”

Even though it’s unintentional, she’s happy for the images to be seen as a comment on sexism in the media. “I totally identify as a feminist, but I’m even more so now without knowing I was one. All of a sudden, I’m like oh yeah, I’ll march and shit, because I’ve got a voice.”