I take selfies and I declare that with pride. I am, however, a selfie convert. I used to browse Instagram with disdain every Sunday as I scrolled past countless #selfiesunday posts, and would roll my eyes when I came upon albums of them on my Facebook newsfeed. The word itself was enough to make me shudder, but I have now seen the light. Selfies (in moderation, like all good things) are awesome! Stop the selfie hate!
In today's media, women are mostly represented by photoshopped white models with unattainable figures and flawless skin. The fashion and beauty industries spend billions of dollars to make women feel bad about themselves. After all, women who do not feel like they fit into the standards of beauty are the ones that will buy hair relaxers, laser hair removal and spray tans.This is quite the blow to an average women's self esteem. But, never fear, the selfie is here to take back representation and put back into the hands where it belongs-- the hands of the everyday woman. The thing that is so great about the selfie is that it helps reshape those standards of beauty by celebrating normal people, freckles, curls, wrinkles and all.
Selfies are created and controlled by the individuals taking them, rather than the beauty industry that sets unattainable standards of what we should look like. With the selfie, women do not have to rely on the media for representation. They are in control of what they look like and how they are represented. This is especially important for queer women and women of color who don't often see images of people who look like them in the media. The rise of the selfie shifts beauty from unrealistic, photoshopped models to something more realistic, which is a positive change for everyone.
Selfies are little snapshots of pride as well as celebrations of the self. In moderation, they are a great way for women and girls to shake their fists at the beauty industry and take back their representation. So, next time you are scrolling through the influx of #selfiesunday Instagram posts, I encourage you to hold back the urge to roll your eyes and give a big shout out to the importance of the selfie.
No comments:
Post a Comment