This week the theme for I must confess is unflattering photos. I thought about it for about 5 minutes and decided that there was no way in hell I was posting a photo that I wasn’t happy with on the internet. I mean sure..I post drunk selfies all of the time but that is completely different. I can’t explain why, it just is.
I usually take at least 10 photos before I am happy with a photo I post of myself, even then I can pick it apart. I’m not particularly in love with myself lately and I try to put the best parts of myself forward. I also thought that posting what I thought was an unflattering photo of myself would feel, to me at least, like fishing for compliments, a pet hate of mine.
It seems to be a societal standard that we can never admit out loud that we either love our physical appearances or that we aren’t happy with it. However I’m sure we all have that friend who is always telling everyone how fat, ugly etc they are, just so everyone can gush over them and tell them how wrong they are. I don’t play that game, I hate the game.
If you post a picture saying ‘omg look how ugly I am’..then just know how hard it is for me (and probably others) to hold back from saying ‘yeh, you’re right, you are a bit ugly’. When every second photo has ‘sorry about the fat’ then maybe you need to do something about your mindset, maybe you need to surround yourself with people who see your worth as more than physical.
This post probably reads like sour grapes and I guess it is. I am sick of the body movement, I am sick of being told how to feel about my appearance. Maybe today I hate every inch of it, but tomorrow I might be able to list off a handful of things I like easily. That’s OK.
I hope that we can move on from a place where we have to have an opinion on our bodies, instead doing things because YOU want to and not because it is the newest movement. If you don’t like your body and want to work on it, that’s ok. Just like it’s perfectly fine to admit that you love your body.
I’m with you on this one – if you don’t like the photo don’t put it up, fishing for praise is as annoying as when people put random, vague statements up on facebook wanting you ask more. Say what you think or don’t say anything at all!
Yes, I am sitting this one out today too!! I am not photogenic at all, and I don’t need to go there either. I am actually sick of genetically beautiful people telling me that “strong is the new skinny” and that we should praise & be happy with our bodies. A new magazine campaign came out the other day wanting us to accept our bodies and the rest of the magazine hadn’t changed in the slightest. Still skinny, beautiful women selling the notion of perfection. No winners on either side here.
Good on you Tegan! I love how you tell it like it is and I couldn’t agree more!
There was one time where this was oh so true for me!
It was a family photo at my younger sisters 21st, I wore white linen pants which at the time I thought looked ok, until we got the photos printed (yes back in the olden days when you had to wait until you’d taken 24 photos and then taken the film to the shop and wait at least an hour to get them back…remember those days…sigh) and I thought I looked huge! A comment I made to my dad to which he agreed!!! I was a little mortified but loved him for his honesty! It is funny how we do this…..
To be honest Tegan, I burnt all my severely unflattering photos twenty five years ago. I like any photo of myself before 45 years of age . I didn’t like them at the time but they’re a hell of a lot better than later ones:)
This is exactly why I try to avoid talking about my own feelings about my body on my blog.
I could pick my body to bits with things that need improving but I don’t hate my body really in any form to even do anything about improving it. I do however find it hard bring myself to want to take selfies for some reason. On the odd occasion I have taken them I just don’t like them so I just don’t bother.
I am with you though. If you don’t like it, don’t post it. I don’t play well at the self pity/self hatred game and if you tell me your fat then so be it. The people I find myself close to usually have a sense of reality about them and see most for what it is worth. I am however friends with their personalities and looks are just what is on the outside.
Well I arrived kicking and screaming to the party this week and pretty much decided my attitude needs to change.
Thanks for your thoughts on this week’s topic Tegan. As always, you share your thoughts deeply and honestly – I really appreciate that. As usual, I look on the light side of things and seeing as it’s impossible to have a good passport or licence photo I wanted to take a lighter look on body image. Unusually for me, I didn’t even consider the negative ramifications of this prompt – thanks for sharing your views on this x
I’m so with you on this point. It’s unbelievably frustrating how self concerned some people can be without any kind of peripheral understanding for those around them. So ready for the body movement to change to something where our girls think it’s ok to just be themselves, and to love themselves for it!
I must admit my selfie skills have improved a lot since blogging which is kinda good 😉