Kylie Jenner's leg scar on full display on cover of GQ — and that’s so healthy, an expert says

Kylie Jenner poses in a skimpy bodysuit on the August cover of GQ alongside her boyfriend, Travis Scott. But although this is the couple’s first cover together, there’s something else that is notable: The large scar on Jenner’s left thigh was left untouched by airbrushing.

People praised Jenner on Twitter for showing off her scar:

This isn’t the first time Jenner has shown off her scar. She shared an Instagram post a few years ago that showed a closeup of it, writing, “I love my scar.”

Jenner revealed how she got the scar during a fan Q&A in 2011. “When I was about 5, my sister [Kendall] and I were playing hide-and-seek, and I hid inside this really tall, enclosed gate,” Jenner said, according to ET. “After a while when my sister didn’t find me, I had to climb up on this sharp pole sticking out from the gate. I slipped and the pole went into my leg. I tried pulling away to get the pole out, but it just tore through my whole leg. It’s smaller now though because I grew!”

Jenner’s scar hasn’t always been visible in photo shoots. It was notably airbrushed out in a racy photo shoot she did for Interview magazine in 2015.

It’s important for people in positions of power to show off physical imperfections like this, licensed clinical psychologist John Mayer, author of Family Fit: Find Your Balance in Life, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Seeing bodies that have imperfections dispels the notion that there is an ‘ideal’ body,” he says. “It helps break the myth that the human body looks the way it has been portrayed in advertising, the media, and in films, all of which is not real life.”

When people like Jenner show off scars and other bodily imperfections, it sends a healthy message to others that it’s OK to not be physically perfect and to embrace their own scars and flaws, Mayer says.

Unfortunately, it can take time and repeated exposure for people to internalize the message. In a perfect world, every airbrushed photo would have an equally un-airbrushed real shot, Mayer says. But until then, celebrities sometimes showing off their scars, makeup-free faces, and cellulite will just have to do the trick.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Actress Jameela Jamil slams tabloid for calling swimsuit-clad celebrities ‘beached whale’ and ‘too big’

• Paralympian, curvy models, and breastfeeding mom stun in swimsuits as Sports Illustrated doubles down on inclusion

• Women are posing in nothing but glitter for body-positive photo shoots

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