Jewish woman builds career on butt
Jen Selter, queen of the belfies, or body selfies, on Instagram, wants to be the next Jillian Michaels
Renee Ghert-Zand is a reporter and feature writer for The Times of Israel.
Move over, Kim Kardashian. The new queen of the belfies (that’s body selfies, for you social media luddites) is Jen Selter, a young Jewish woman with an eye-catching derriere.
It’s literally hard to look away when a photo of her pop-out behind pops up on your screen. Don’t believe it? Just ask one of her 1.3 million Instagram followers.
In a tale for our times, the 20-year-old Long Island native has skipped college and is catapulting herself to fame and fortune based on pics she began posting last March of her booty clad in brightly colored, skintight workout attire. Now living in Manhattan, she has several managers and is fielding endorsement offers and talk show invitations.
“I want to be the next Jillian Michaels,” Selter tells The Times of Israel, referring to the famous fitness trainer and reality TV personality. “I want to become a fitness guru and travel the world teaching fitness classes.”
Israel is on her list of desired destinations — for personal, as well as professional reasons. “My stepfather’s brother lives near Jerusalem. He’s Orthodox and has 12 kids,” she shares.
Selter claims that the photos she posts of herself — some showing her face, but many capturing only her body — are all for the sake of motivating people to hit the gym and get in shape. Selter herself started working out seriously just a few years ago.
“I sometimes work out four hours straight after a long day at work,” she says. Since graduating from a public high school in Roslyn, New York, Selter has dabbled in cosmetology and worked in a doctor’s office and at a gym.
“I think the fact that I didn’t go away to college like most of my friends makes this all more interesting,” Selter reflects. “I didn’t rush to figure out what I wanted in life. And now I know. Everything happens for a reason.”
Selter, who was featured in People magazine in 2010 for having a nose job in response to bullying about her appearance, doesn’t let haters get her down.
“People might ask, ‘What is this Jewish girl doing exposing herself?’ but they don’t know where I am coming from,” she says.
The way she sees it, she’s just trying to inspire people, and she’s grateful for being able to do so. “If it wasn’t for Instagram, I wouldn’t be where I am,” she says.
“Behind the butt pics there are reasons why I am posting and where I am right now,” she adds without the slightest trace of cheekiness.
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