The INSIDER Summary:Winnie Harlow is a 23-year-old model from Canada.Recently, she posed for a nearly nude selfie on Instagram to make a point about body positivity."The real difference isn't my skin. It's the fact that I don't find my beauty in the opinions of others. I'm beautiful because I know it," she said.Harlow'smessage is now going viral, with over 481,000 users liking the post.Over the pastfew years, social media usershave been pushing for a more inclusive definition of beauty.One model with the skin condition vitiligo is going viral forembracingher individualbeauty ina nearly nude photo she posted to Instagram. Vitiligo is characterized by white patches on the skin that developwhen pigment-forming cells are destroyed, according to WebMD.Winnie Harlow shared theAugust 16 selfie,which we first sawon People, to show offher patches andprove there's power in being unique. ' the real difference isn't my skin. It's the fact that I don't find my beauty in the opinions of others. I'm beautiful because I know it. Celebrate Your unique beauty today (& everyday)! A post shared by 'Winnie Harlow' (@winnieharlow) on Aug 16, 2017 at 8:10am PDTon Aug 16, 2017 at 8:10am PDT Posingconfidently with her head tilted back, the 23-year-old modelcaptioned the post: "The real difference isn't my skin. It's the fact that I don't find my beauty in the opinions of others. I'm beautiful because I know it. Celebrate Your unique beauty today (& everyday)!"Fans flooded Harlow'scomments with praise."So incredible to see @winnieharlow! Your skin is so beautiful and so are you for sharing to the world with such positivity. Love it! Keep it coming," one Instagram user wrote.Another person wrote:"How manyapplauds can I give this post. [sic] You are such an inspiration.""Needed to hear this! Thank you," someone else commented.This isn't the first time Harlow has used her platform to speak out. HerInstagram account is essentially a memo board for body positivity andself-love. "in order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.." - Coco Chanel A post shared by 'Winnie Harlow' (@winnieharlow) on Aug 11, 2017 at 10:27am PDTon Aug 11, 2017 at 10:27am PDT ''wash day.. (back story: I grew up with natural hair and got to middle school where I was already different and was one of the only black girls with "nappy hair" as everyone had a chemical relaxer. I wanted my hair to look like theirs so I begged my mom for a relaxer and all my hair fell out from it. In high school I decide to go natural and grew my hair long and healthy. I educated myself on natural hair and my hair was thriving. When I entered the modelling industry the braids and twists I protected my hair with weren't versatile enough for my job, so I tried weaves... Unfortunately, the hair I would leave out to cover my tracks went completely straight from all the heat damage from work, and then fell out. I was devastated. I worked so hard for the health of my hair. I sat down with my favourite hair stylist from Toronto and she introduced me to wigs as protective styling and Thank God she did. Sometimes in my career now I seem difficult when it comes to my natural hair, but most black girls will understand our hair is like a crown made of very delicate flowers that damage so very easily. I joke about naps because I know the struggle. This is 1 full year of hair growth. My goal is bra strap length, healthy hair.) ''''''' A post shared by 'Winnie Harlow' (@winnieharlow) on Jul 22, 2017 at 9:35am PDTon Jul 22, 2017 at 9:35am PDT My goddaughter @Samiaslife always asks "What's that Aunty Wiwi'". She's 2 and so intelligent, she asks me every time she sees me and I tell her every time because her education is partly my job. Encourage children to be inquisitive, as well as accepting, they are our future. We are all ignorant until we know, But we all have the means to Know! Research what your interested in. Learn something new. Hair, skin, history, a language, a technique, a field. We end ignorance with education. We are all different and we are all beautiful ''' (she also almost took out my eye '') A post shared by 'Winnie Harlow' (@winnieharlow) on May 11, 2017 at 8:35am PDTon May 11, 2017 at 8:35am PDT The former "America's Next Top Model" contestanthas been vocal when speaking publiclyas well. Several media outlets havequoted her sayingthat she's "proud" of her skin. She alsowants others to feel just as confident as she does despite ever-changing beauty standards, according to herinterview withCoveteur."My beauty philosophy is very general ' beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I try not to focus on what someone else thinks is beautiful, Harlow said. "People will always say, 'What is your definition of beauty'' or 'What is beauty to you'' It doesn't matter.What is beautiful to you' Let's stick to that. You don't have to search for someone else's definition of beauty to know what is beautiful to you."Despite pressure to look a certain way within the fashion industry, it's inspiring to see someone encouraging others to simply love the skin they're in.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: A beauty brand makes a portable gel manicure kit that you can use at home
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