A mother-of-two who was always conscious of her “big old bum” and hid her body as a teenager has taken to social media to post hilarious “frumpy mum” versions of other Instagrammers’ glamorous photos.
Lisa Lloyd, 38, has generated laughs and 14.6K followers by showing off her dodgy karate kicks, while wearing sagging gray underwear and being photobombed by her son.
She roped in engineer husband, Terry, 38, to be the photographer – although she says they sometimes “start getting really angry with each other” during their down-to-earth photoshoots.
But her funny project, which kicked off when she broke her foot in 2020 and posed in a support boot, has a more serious mission – to give others the courage to accept their bodies and being different – and she has found herself with a community of equally honest followers.
Lisa, of Larkfield, Kent, whose children Finley, eight, and five-year-old Poppy, both have autism, said: “They’re not getting any judgment from me and I hope I am helping some people.”
The photo recreations began in January 2020, after Lisa slipped while walking down the stairs and broke her foot, forcing her to wear an orthopedic boot for two months.
The glamorous high-heeled picture Lisa created her own unique take on was posted by Mollie Shannon, a friend she had first met at work, who goes by @Mollieshannon_ on Instagram.
And Lisa, whose own Instagram is @asd_with_a_g_and_t and who describes herself on her page as, ‘Autism mum by day, gin drinker by night’, was soon inspired to post more.
She said: “I started recreating some of Mollie’s pictures to show the frumpy mum version. It’s basically just a take on mum life – showing that we look rough as hell some of the time – and just illustrating the funny side of it.
“At the time, I was a little bit embarrassed posing outside in front of the neighbours, but the more I’ve done it, the more the neighbors have just become used to it now.”
After posting that split picture – juxtaposing Instagram glamor with her own dowdy version – in March 2020, Lisa soon became even more daring.
Just over a week later, she stripped off completely in her lounge to create her own unique take on Mollie’s picture raising awareness for breast cancer.
But while Mollie protected her modest with a pretty pink bikini and artfully placed leaflet, Lisa hid her bits with toilet rolls, which were then feared to be in short supply as Covid restrictions loomed.
But thanks to her poses, which have also included takes on gorgeous pictures posted by ashleyniccoleacro and ariiielwoolsey, Lisa now feels much happier with the way she looks.
She said: “Instagram has just given me this confidence. I’m like, ‘Do you know what? I’ve got a big bum and I don’t care. My mum body is normal and it’s natural and people need to be more confident about showing their differences.”
The mum added: “I get messages all the time saying, ‘I wish I could be as brave as you.’ I get the trolls and I get a few nasty comments here and there, but on the whole people are so supportive.”
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