Selfies

I've got fuck-all to say about that garbage selfies @Jezebel article but this: Selfies have been vital to my self-esteem as a fat woman.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 21, 2013

And it's not because I "rely on others to bestow [my] self-worth on [me]," nor because "they're a reflection of the warped way we teach girls to see themselves as decorative." It's because looking at myself through my own eyes is how I came to love myself in spite of overwhelmingly pervasive messaging telling me I shouldn't.

Also, I will note that I grew up having my picture taken all the time without my consent, and/or being cajoled into posing for pictures I didn't want taken. Selfies feel safe to me in a way that most photographs don't. There are no consent issues or breaching of boundaries during the taking of selfies. That's important to me—and, I expect, to a lot of other people, too.

[I am not linking to the article. You can find it easily enough via Google, if you are so inclined.]