- Oh, hi everyone!
I don't know if you've noticed,
but it seems like recently the internet
and just the world in general
has their undies in a ginormous bundle about selfies.
Is it narcissistic?
Is it empowering?
Is it self-absorbed?
Is it banal?
Is it feminist?
Am I overthinking this?
Yes.
(techno music)
And today I sort of wanted to hop on
this selfie train and really think about that,
particularly in the framework of
sex positivity and body positivity.
Within this framework, not only is it totally okay
to take selfies, it's powerful politically
and it can be a positive exercise for your body image.
(hip hop music)
For 800 ka-trillion years, approximately,
people have been involved in self-portraiture.
People were carving them on cave walls,
they were painting them,
they were taking pictures with ginormous cameras.
The self-portrait taken with a smartphone
is only the most recent in this age-old trend
and it's markedly different from when selfies first began.
It used to be the case that portraits were only something
that the wealthy had access to,
you know, the royals and nobles.
In terms of painting a self-portrait,
artists used to be almost exclusively male
and that's why a lot of the self-portraits
that you see painted are by men.
Now anyone can have their portrait taken
and preserved throughout time,
which is important because when you think about
the purpose of self-portraiture to begin with,
it's to capture who you are.
An opportunity to define yourself
instead of having other people define you
and to be represented.
I mean, we live in a society that has
a very, very narrow definition of beauty
and it's unattainable to, like, 99.9% of the population.
The selfie interferes with that dynamic.
Suddenly, people of all shapes and sizes and colors
and abilities and gender expression are being seen.
All of our bodies are visible in a world
that only allowed us to see one type.
And we're like, "Hey, what do you know
"those groups exist.
"And what the heck?
"They're so beautiful.
"Oh my god, maybe I'm beautiful."
And before you know it, oops,
you're part of the selfie revolution.
The selfie revolution is a celebration of the self.
Why yes, it actually is okay to celebrate yourself
amidst all the messages that you should hate yourself
and if you don't, at least pretend to.
Here's some sex+ exercises that you can use
to increase your own body awareness
and also to improve your self-esteem with selfies.
One, take photos of yourself doing things that you love
and share that part of yourself with other people
through those images.
Two, take unflattering photos.
(awkward grunting)
and realize that angles and lighting and filters
and framing all effect how someone's seen.
Realize that the standards you're comparing yourself to
use all of those tactics and more!
Nothing is at it seems, it's all an illusion.
Number three, take photos of yourself
when you're looking good!
And be like, "Hey world, I'm looking good!"
Number four, look for things that you like about you body
and then capture them in an artistic way
or in a very non-artistic way, if you're me.
Use your selfies as a way to express
your love and appreciation for those body parts.
Number five, take pictures of yourself
doing more than looking good and smiling.
Use selfies as a way to show emotions
that you might be feeling.
Very humanizing, I think you'll like it.
Number...
What number am I on?
I don't care, the next number!
Post a selfie of yourself when you're not feeling sexy.
Imperfection is okay.
It's okay to not look or feel pretty
because looking and feeling pretty
isn't the most important thing about you.
Believe it or not, you are not obligated
to look like a sexy, hot, sizzling sex bomb all the time
or ever, really.
Pay attention to those little voices that might be saying,
"You need to look like this.
"You're not good enough.
"Nitpick, nitpick, nitpick."
and then tell them to shut the hell up.
Look up other people's selfies
and challenge your own idea of beauty.
Find things that make them unique and beautiful.
And lastly, while you're revolutionizing your selfies,
remember that your physical body does not define
your worth and value as a person.
It's just your body.
Bodies are just the artfully decorated bags
that facilitate your talents and that hold your brain.
Now that's the good stuff.
So this week on my Tumblr I'm going to be posting
a little selfie project.
I hope that some of you will like to participate.
I'll put a link in the description.
Alright babes, I hope you have a happy, happy holidays
and I'll be back in the new year!
(blows kiss)
(acoustic guitar music)