Filter me pretty
Jessica Simm,
18th Apr 2018
Tags:
Life
Blog
Beauty
Body image
Individuality
Insecurity
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and pretty much any social media platform on the internet all have one thing in common: they all have the ability to change us and portray us in whatever shape or form we like. Social media is our mask, our hiding place, or our platform of pretend.
For our generation, body image issues are such a huge deal.
For our generation, body image issues are such a huge deal. Not only is it affecting teenagers, both male and female, but it's also starting to affect children. Scarily the age of body conscious kids is getting younger and younger.
I wonder how many of us look in the mirror and truly enjoy what we see?
I wonder how many of us look in the mirror and truly enjoy what we see? Well, not to worry as the internet has given us tools to change all that, or at least to pretend to the world that we are prettier than we perceive.
Since I can remember I’ve always referred to myself as a “big girl.” Whether that be big boned, curvy, or just chubby, it’s always been a label I’ve happily given myself.
When I was younger, Snapchat filters weren’t a thing. In fact we didn’t even have decent makeup to hand if we wanted to improve our appearance. Now with so many tools at hand it’s so easy for my younger sisters to create new personas and appearances if they wish, and that really saddens me.
It breaks my heart that guys and girls are working so hard to be something they are not.
It breaks my heart that guys and girls are working so hard to be something they are not. They are going beyond simply exercising more and eating better, to the point where airbrushing our images and pretending on our social media platforms is normal.
Whilst I may be sad about the social media situation as it stands, I’m also really encouraged by it. I’m encouraged by the rise of internet influencers parading body positivity. Seeking to show us all that it doesn’t matter our size, skin colour, or taste in clothes, we are all valuable the way we were made.
It makes me feel empowered seeing these people on social media platforms and I want more of my Facebook feed to be celebrating us rather than putting us down.
You don’t need to filter your faces, or re-brand yourselves.
Don’t get me wrong, there is so much work to be done. There are still models portraying pretend perfection, and brands telling us we need to improve ourselves by buying their products whenever we get scrolling. But, I want to encourage you today that you don’t need to filter your faces, or re-brand yourselves.
The reason I believe this is beyond simply accepting these truths for myself. As well as believing in the power of body positivity, I am also a believer in God. Because of this I believe that he made not only me, but also every single person who ever has and ever will exist. Not only created, but created as beautiful, intelligent, and incredible people, made in different shapes and sizes and given different tastes and personalities. So when you think about it, why would we try and change ourselves when we were made awesome in the first place?
I really want to encourage you that no matter where you are on your body image journey, you don’t need to filter yourself pretty! You’re already good enough. You don’t need to pretend that you have a trendy personality, you are already that and more just by being yourself.
The more of us that begin to accept our individuality, the quicker the world will follow.
The more of us that begin to accept our individuality, the quicker the world will follow.
I’m hoping one day Snapchat filters are once again something that don’t even exist. That positive image power will succeed and we will all share in our created amazingness.
