Selfies and Feminism
There have been a lot of talk lately about selfies and what they mean in terms of feminism. I have read articles praising their use for women empowerment, self-confidence, and self-expression. I have also read articles bashing them as narcissistic cries for help. As a 25 year old woman who has gone through a journey of self discovery including a dramatic weight loss, I have had a bumpy relationship with selfies.
I first began taking selfies as a 14 year old with a Myspace. Since then I went through a transformation where I gained a lot of weight and stopped taking photos of myself. I was self-conscious and incredibly embarrassed of the way I looked in photos. I was notorious for getting out of photos. I would duck behind someone in group or candid photos or always be the one to offer to take the picture. And I would certainly never take a photo of myself. Now this is not a post on body shame so I won't spend long talking about my issues with body image, but it does relate to the way I feel about selfies. When I was 19, I decided that I was unhappy with how I felt in my own skin and began a journey to find what I considered to be a healthy me, both mentally and physically. I began taking care of what I was putting into my body, what I was doing with my body, and what I was doing with my mind. The healthier and happier I became, the more photos I took of myself. However, even now I still don't take very many selfies. I know that I still have body image issues and that plays a large role in my insecurities and in turn the lack of photos I take of myself, so much so that I find myself jealous of women and girls able to take selfies.
There was a long time where I felt selfies were just another plea for attention and affirmation, but I have since discovered another perspective. I used to find myself judging every little selfie and being very critical of women who took them, but when it came down to it I realized that I was just jealous of their confidence. And since this realization, I have crossed over into the selfies are feminist tools camp. I see now that selfies are about putting an image of yourself out there because you felt confident, empowered, silly...anything you want. I don't believe young girls should be praised for their looks when boys are being praised for their intelligence and strength, but I do believe girls and women should be praised for being confident. There are too many times where women won't pride themselves for something for fear of being seen as egotistical or vain, but when did it become an atrocity to be proud of yourself? I believe selfies can be used for empowerment whether your taking it after running a marathon or running to the store. Everyone deserves to be confident and to be proud of themselves. As women we should be quicker to using positive reinforcement with each other instead of picking each other apart. I also know that selfies are a great way to diversify the images of women we are constantly barraged with.
I came across this one woman's art project where she used selfies and added screen shots of some extremely negative private messages she receives through tumblr.
This project showcases how horrific the anonymity of the internet can be when abused to spew hateful speech. Who is benefiting from that? In the article she says that since posting the art project in progress she has even received messages accusing her of doing this because she is desperate for attention.
“I felt like this was blaming me,” she said, “when the people sending these message are the people doing the wrong thing, not me.”
I first began taking selfies as a 14 year old with a Myspace. Since then I went through a transformation where I gained a lot of weight and stopped taking photos of myself. I was self-conscious and incredibly embarrassed of the way I looked in photos. I was notorious for getting out of photos. I would duck behind someone in group or candid photos or always be the one to offer to take the picture. And I would certainly never take a photo of myself. Now this is not a post on body shame so I won't spend long talking about my issues with body image, but it does relate to the way I feel about selfies. When I was 19, I decided that I was unhappy with how I felt in my own skin and began a journey to find what I considered to be a healthy me, both mentally and physically. I began taking care of what I was putting into my body, what I was doing with my body, and what I was doing with my mind. The healthier and happier I became, the more photos I took of myself. However, even now I still don't take very many selfies. I know that I still have body image issues and that plays a large role in my insecurities and in turn the lack of photos I take of myself, so much so that I find myself jealous of women and girls able to take selfies.
There was a long time where I felt selfies were just another plea for attention and affirmation, but I have since discovered another perspective. I used to find myself judging every little selfie and being very critical of women who took them, but when it came down to it I realized that I was just jealous of their confidence. And since this realization, I have crossed over into the selfies are feminist tools camp. I see now that selfies are about putting an image of yourself out there because you felt confident, empowered, silly...anything you want. I don't believe young girls should be praised for their looks when boys are being praised for their intelligence and strength, but I do believe girls and women should be praised for being confident. There are too many times where women won't pride themselves for something for fear of being seen as egotistical or vain, but when did it become an atrocity to be proud of yourself? I believe selfies can be used for empowerment whether your taking it after running a marathon or running to the store. Everyone deserves to be confident and to be proud of themselves. As women we should be quicker to using positive reinforcement with each other instead of picking each other apart. I also know that selfies are a great way to diversify the images of women we are constantly barraged with.
I came across this one woman's art project where she used selfies and added screen shots of some extremely negative private messages she receives through tumblr.
“I felt like this was blaming me,” she said, “when the people sending these message are the people doing the wrong thing, not me.”
Another woman wrote about the #365FeministSelfies project and she has some fantastic motives behind taking selfies. Now, I know that selfies aren't for everyone. If you don't like or want to take them then thats your prerogative. But I do think that if you feel like taking one, some, or a million then go for it. Be proud of who you are and share that with the world. And on that note, I leave you with a selfie.
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