#365feministselfie

Four years ago, my pal Veronica Arreola invited anyone and everyone who was up for it to participate in her #365feministselfie project. The rules were simple: Post a picture of yourself every day for a year.

I participated in 2014, the first year of the project, and I was really glad that I had. In subsequent years, I would post occasional selfies with the label, but I didn't dedicate myself to doing a picture a day.

This year the project enters its fifth year, and I'm going to try again to do a daily selfie and be a true 365 participant!

My decision to participate again is attributable to a number of factors, but chief among them is this: I spent the whole of last year feeling at risk of losing myself inside the work of documenting the Trump administration's fuckery. Reasserting myself feels necessary for my senses of self and place.

And challenging people to acknowledge our humanity in a context of policy-driven dehumanization by an increasingly authoritarian government is an act of resistance. (There are people who scoff at that notion. You'll note that most of them do so from accounts that conceal their names and faces.) It is scarier for me to visible than it has ever been, which is precisely why I feel obliged to push myself to do it.

Then there is this: I am surviving. Daily selfies are evidence of that. I enjoy looking at the hashtag and seeing evidence of other feminists surviving, too.

It's the sort of community I want and need in this moment.

Here are my four selfies so far (today's was a twofer) that I've shared on Instagram:

Happy New Year, I guess. Lol.

Looking cute AF in my owl tee after a swim!

Working.
I'm sharing all of this — the photos and my rationales for participating once again — in the hope that they may encourage others to participate, if anyone wants to join in, but is feeling on the fence about it.

Also: Let me know in comments if you'd like to have a regular #365feministselfie feature here at Shakesville, where we can share selfies and discuss how we're feeling about the project. I'm thinking a weekly thread, but I'm open to suggestions for more or less, if anyone is interested in having one at all.