Monday, December 31, 2018

Resolved for you: Everybody selfie!

I am going to suggest a New Year's resolution for everyone: Do your own #365feministselfie in 2019.

Technology problems derailed my second time around. Although I finally got many pictures uploaded, posting them all at once did not really seem helpful. However, for both my first completed attempt and my second attempt I never actually started on January 1st, tracking a calendar year. That's what I'm going to do now, and you can do it with me.

If the point before was to be visible - facing yourself and the world - that is needed now more than ever. There are many forces working to diminish individuals now. That is especially true for women. There is pressure on us to smile and look good. Seeing yourself at first is a reminder that you are not meeting those expectations.

Here is the way that it transforms: when you do start looking at yourself every day, it is easier to like yourself. The beauty standards are stupid and superficial, ignoring so much that is wonderful, and the double standard where attractiveness is more important for women is ridiculous, and you are a good person so it is good to see you.

(Maybe if you are not a good person it can inspire you to change.)

I have to admit that I think some pretty painful things are coming up for me in 2019. I hope there are good things too, but there are going to be things that hurt. There will be days I won't have a smile, and days I will want to hide from the world.

That's what makes this important. It is not just that I am a person, and one who is fat and aging, but also that I have pains and imperfections and heartaches along with the joys and abilities. None of those things diminish my worth; they are an integral part of my humanity. By committing to do this I am committing not to hide from any of it.


It's important to take the daily selfies, and it's important to post them. I post on Twitter and Facebook, but Instagram would be a perfectly logical place to post, as would Tumblr. I can totally see creating a blog for it (Blogger is easy to use), especially if you decide to post weekly instead of daily. I don't recommend posting less frequently than weekly, as it quickly becomes a pain and drags on momentum.

Do use the hash tag, because then it connects you to something bigger. You are an individual, and your selfies show you as that individual, but you are also a part of the human family, a part of the world. Remember and celebrate that.

Men among my readers, of course you should do it, and of course you should use the same hash tag. Perhaps this will help you to embrace feminism as well as yourself, and we should all be feminists.

I am including some of my old posts on the topic, and some posts that have influenced me.

Do it.

I'll be looking for your pictures.


https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-year-of-selfies.html
https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2018/07/when-selfies-stick.html
http://www.shakesville.com/2018/01/365feministselfie.html
http://www.vivalafeminista.com/2013/12/365feministselfie-are-you-in.html

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