The Twittersphere has recently erupted with hashtags inspiring people to post pictures of themselves and be confident in their bodies. However, it has turned into something negative.
The hashtag was meant to be a positive thing for people to be confident and show off their beautiful bodies to the world.
Of course, social media has a way of twisting things. People are now basing their confidence on the amount of likes or retweets they get on a picture of themselves and their body. If I get less likes than a friend of mine on a picture, I am going to feel less confident. It defeats the purpose.
On a side note, some people have taken the whole “your body is beautiful so you should post it” idea too literally. When looking through the hashtag, I found girls posing completely naked. Like the type of naked where there is no clothing on them. MULTIPLE PICTURES OF MULTIPLE PEOPLE WITHOUT ANY CLOTHING.
I do not think people understand the repercussions this can have on their lives. This might make you feel confident for a while, but, in the end, this can take an ugly turn. These photos are out for the whole world to see. Your future boss can see your boobs. Obama can see your boobs. Your grandpa can see your boobs.
Your picture can end up on any website. The picture will never go away. When someone googles you, do you want them to see you smiling and professional, or your boobs hanging out in a bad quality mirror selfie?
“I think it is great to feel good about your body, but posting degrading pictures can effect your life in bad ways,” says freshman Katie Gordon.
It is a great thing to be confident about your body. It can also be great to show it. It is not great to post pictures that can be degrading to yourself or have your body seen as a sex symbol.
Instead of posing in a picture in your bra and underwear or in a sexual pose, try posting a picture that shows off your confidence, but still shows good representation of yourself. What you post lasts forever.
Likewise, we have not gotten rid of any labels, just glorified them. When scrolling through twitter, I feel like there are two sides: “fat” and “skinny.”
The “fat” girls are actually just normal, healthy-looking girls. They have, unfortunately, given themselves the self-deprecating title.
On the other hand are the “skinny girls.” They are also healthy and have a self-deprecating title.
Both the words are so strong; I am confused as to where I essentially fit in. What side does a tiny five foot girl who can fit in a locker fit herself into? Isn’t there a section for petites?
This got me thinking – why do we have to group ourselves by our bodies? Isn’t body positive supposed to eliminate body shaming?
I do not want to be “curvy and radiant” and I do not care that “real men” will love my curves.
We should be making everyone feel beautiful because everyone struggles with bra size, jean size, and weight no matter what.
You should definitely not skip out on that ice cream sundae; ice cream is delicious.
When you see people posting pictures in bikinis and feeling confident, it is a reminder that you may not feel comfortable in your body.
“It seems like a good idea, but I feel like the trend is hurting more people than helping,” says freshman Kate Werheim.
Instead of proving through Twitter that you have accomplished the great feeling of confidence, there are other ways to inspire a generation of powerful and confident people.
Compliment at least two people in a day; it will raise their confidence and make you happy. Try smiling at people; no on likes to be scowled at. Talk to random people, make friends, make the world nicer.
Spread some good vibes.
If you are not feeling particularly confident at the moment, realize you are not alone. Most people, even the ones posting online, are not always confident in their appearance; everyone wants to change something about themselves.
You have to acknowledge that Photoshop exists, society puts negative labels onto beautiful things and beautiful people, and there will always be someone against you.
We live in a crazy world and we cannot let what people post or do not post on social media effect our lives. Confidence is beautiful.
If you want to post something, do it. Just make sure it’s for the right reasons and it is benefiting you in the long run.
Or if you are not comfortable doing that, come sit with me and we can binge eat junk food and watch girl power movies – whatever makes you acknowledge that you are a powerful human being.
Social media has a large impact on the self-esteem of everyone in today’s society. Whether we admit it or not, we are constantly comparing ourselves to the people we see.
We know the models we see have been retouched, and yet we still compare ourselves. We know the amount of likes you get on a picture are irrelevant, yet we let it define us.
Our generation is not brain-washed by technology, but how we use the technology. We let Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. define who we are as a person.
Instead of judging someone by their personality, or even just by seeing them in the halls, we judge them by their pictures posted. We know in real life they are not sepia or black and white, and yet we compare ourselves to them. (But really, how cool would it be if people could like choose a filter of the day or something. I should invent that.)
If we took a step back and looked at the world a little differently, we would realize that we have to live with ourselves every second of our lives, so we might as well work on being comfortable in our own skin. We should not let the Internet define us.
In the end, your #bodypositive tweet won’t matter, so do whatever makes you feel like the confident, fabulous, and beautiful person you are.
Lets start a new trend #beautifulandconfident.
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How do you think #bodypositive effects self esteem
It can make you feel better
It is negative and can be hurtful
It has no impact
other
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