Right-on feminist Instagrammers to follow now for daily inspiration

Love it or hate it, it’s undeniable that Instagram can be a force for good. On a professional level, Instagram has been instrumental in helping small businesses grow. On a personal level, it can introduce us to a new restaurant or city. Or even to empowering feminist Instagram accounts that will brighten our day and ignite our sense of social justice.

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Whether preaching body positivity or hailing the future of flexible working, our favourite feminist Instagram accounts use drawings, humour and fierce messaging to get their points across.

Here are some of our favourite feminist Instagram accounts which are as essential to our daily ritual as that morning cup of coffee.

The safe space: Gurls Talk

British model and activist Adwoah Aboah created Gurls Talk, an online community and safe space for women to discuss anything and share stories about issues like mental illness, sex and self-care back in 2015, and the Instagram feed continues to feature women opening up, using the site as a forum to be heard and to listen. Adwoah has even been chosen as a Barbie Shero 2019 doll, replicated down to her shaved head, multiple piercings and freckled skin.

The comic: Celeste Barber

The next time you’re scrolling through Instagram and stumbling upon one impossibly perfect bikini photo after another, head over to Celeste Barber’s feminist Instagram account. The Australian comic spoofs celebrity snaps and campaigns, adding hilarious captions. We heart her.

The poet: Rupi Kaur

We could all use a dose of feminist poetry on our lunch break, and Rupi Kaur is the lady to deliver it. Poems from her bestselling The Sun & Her Flowers and Milk & Honey – which outsold The Odyssey – are often posted on her Instagram and are concise but pack a punch to leave you feeling inspired and ready to kick butt. You may also remember Kaur for posting the censored-and-celebrated photo of herself with a visible period stain back in 2015. Our personal favourite poem of hers? “When my daughter is living in my belly, I will speak to her like she’s already changed the world. She will walk out of me on a red carpet fully equipped with the knowledge that she’s capable of anything she sets her mind to.” Wow.

The illustrator: Joanna Thangiah

Australian artist and feminist Instagrammer Joanna Thangiah may draw in saccharine-sweet hues, but there’s nothing cutesy about her beautiful, empowering illustrations: they tackle sex, mental illness, body image and so much more, head on.

The community space: The Wing

Female-only community space The Wing is all about celebrating and connecting women through their physical spaces (which are the most gorgeously designed and well-thought out interiors you’ve ever seen – look out for a London location opening soon). The Wing’s Instagram feed is filled with inspiring imagery from their events (which feature everyone from sex workers to investors to celebrities), as well as links to newspaper articles, girl power quotes and more.

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The celebrity: Laverne Cox

Gorgeous, inspiring, talented, Laverne Cox is much more than just an actress. Her Insta is packed with the red carpet fabulousness of celeb life, as well as plenty of posts on everything she’s overcome, and everything she’s still fighting for.

The politician: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Young, bold and exactly what US politics needs right now, AOC uses her Instagram account to tear down the walls and show the world – and her millennial contemporaries – what government is really like. She feels like a best friend… who is going to change the world, and might just be a US president one day.

The mum: Mother Pukka

Anna Whitehouse’s Mother Pukka doesn’t just hilariously show parenting for what it is, warts and all. Her Instagram is all about promoting her flexible working campaign: for women, mothers and humans everywhere.

The artist: Feminist Thought Bubble

Molly Williams’ illustrated Insta feed teams a portrait of a woman with a thought bubble that tackles everything from menstruation to misogyny.

The activist: Sarah Sophie Flicker

Actress, creative director and activist Sarah Sophie Flicker was one of the organisers of the Women’s March and continues to post messages and images of strength, humour and empowerment. Plus, she tattooed ‘Stop Kavanaugh’ on her arm for the Emmy Awards, so we’re kind of obsessed.

The body positivity activist: BodyPosiPanda

Imagine a unicorn with inspiring self-care messaging and you’ve pretty much captured Megan Jayne Crabbe’s colourful, optimistic feed. The recovered anorexic and author is all about body-positivity, and learning to love yourself as you are.