This YouTuber Is Recreating Iconic Celeb Photos To Promote Body Positivity, And It's Super Inspiring

    We stan this queen.

    Lauren Garafano
    by Lauren Garafano

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This is Sierra Schultzzie.

    She's a YouTuber who creates fun videos focusing on fashion, body positivity, and midsize bodies.

    Well, in February, Sierra launched an inspiring new series called "Recreating Iconic Celebrity Photos" to promote body positivity.

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    In the series, Sierra and her team stage their own photoshoots where they replicate these iconic photos — except Sierra's photos are completely Photoshop-free.

    In her most recent installment, she recreated iconic shots of Jessica Simpson, Zendaya, and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

    Sierra Schultzzie / Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

    Sierra told BuzzFeed that the series was inspired by her own experience of not seeing herself reflected in the entertainment world: "I spent way too many years being that girl, and I wanted to be the kind of representation I desperately needed as a teen."

    Sierra Schultzzie / Via youtube.com

    "I wanted to show that you don’t need the 'perfect' Hollywood body to be glamorous and beautiful," she said. "The average American woman is a size 14, yet most of the celebrities we look up to and idolize are closer to a size 2. And don’t get me wrong — those thin women in the original photos are gorgeous! But when all we have to look up to is one standard of beauty, that average girl sitting at home feels like she’ll never be beautiful or worthy, because she doesn’t look like that," she added. "Showing women that there is more than one kind of beautiful is so important to break down those cycles of insecurity and body negativity."

    Sierra also said that the reaction to her recreations has been heartbreaking on the one hand, but ultimately heartwarming.

    Sierra Schultzzie / Via youtube.com

    "The comments I see on these videos simultaneously break my heart and put it back together again. Hearing from so many women that they too have struggled with not feeling good enough, with needing to be thin, with comparing themselves to these unrealistic beauty standards — it’s really heavy," she said. "But then, these women, they’re changing the way they think about their bodies and value themselves. They’re realizing that there is more than one type of beautiful, and there’s no reason a bigger tummy or thicker thighs take away that beauty. It’s really inspiring to me, and it gives me so much drive to keep making these videos!"

    As for her ultimate goal, Sierra said she hopes viewers "can walk away from these videos feeling a little more comfortable in their skin, feeling seen, and knowing that their body is okay the way it is."

    Sierra Schultzzie / Via youtube.com

    Sierra said, "We’re not all at a point where we can bare our midriff and scream, 'I love my body,' but there’s always a place to start, and I think that place is just acknowledging that your body is okay the way it is. Maybe you don’t feel completely confident with every piece of it yet, but you can accept that your body is good and it doesn’t need to be changed."

    And TBH, she looks freakin' incredible.

    As for what's next, she hopes to recreate photos of Victoria's Secret angels.

    So let's hear it for Sierra Schultzzie and the beautiful human she is!

    Check out the second video in the series and her iconic couples version too!