Blog #3
The cultural artifact I chose is Instagram. This app was
actually more popular back when I was a freshman and sophomore in high school
so many of my peers used it as a form of interaction. At the time it was a fun and
fresh app but my perception of that changed one day my early sophomore year.
There was an exposing page that had started up and when I got the notification
that they wanted to follow me I thought nothing of it until I saw they had tagged
me in one of their post. Someone had taken time out of their day to take a picture
of me at school and post it saying I have no ass. To say the least I was very
hurt because I knew I was thin and basically had no body shape and that just
pushed the notion that I didn’t have a womanly enough body even at such a young
age. I spent the rest of my high school years wearing shirts that covered that
area or big jackets in an attempt to feel better so that no one can comment on
it again. Looking back however I thank whoever posted that picture because even
though I became insecure for a couple years in the long run it helped me in a
way accept my body and embrace it because this body was specifically chosen for
me and I am now thankful for that. Now I don’t cover that area up in fact I wear
clothing to reveal it more and to accentuate it because I love my tiny body and
no one can make any comments about it that can hurt me now because I feel good
about it and that is all that matters.
Looking back at the post with my critically vigilant lenses
my opinion has not changed I think the entire page was focused on degrading
women who don’t appeal to the male gaze and I’m quite certain any girl that was
featured on that page was hurt by it and although whoever made the page probably
made it so it could be used as a laughing matter I don’t think they realize the
extent such a small post can cause for women in the long run who are already
judged if they don’t look a certain way.
Shameless promo though feel free to follow me :)
Hello Priscilla, I am so glad that you accept your body and beauty. I believe you are very beautiful and your confidence brings out your beauty. I applause your willing to share your story and educate people regarding bullying on social media. I hope one day social media will only all positive input and delete any negativity. Their are so much negativity in the world today and I feel people show be more conscious of what they put out because it can have a negative impact on someone life. The suicide rate is very high and people should show more empathy. Why can't we all just get along? People should be judge from within and not their appearance or the color of their skin.
ReplyDeleteHi Priscilla
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that instagram can serve as a forum where men try to enforce the male gaze. Instagram is a place where people are constantly judged, and it is good to take breaks from. On the other hand though it is a great place where social justice can be pushed forwards because it will get more eyes on the problems that need to acknowledged and have something done about them. Additionally, by not caring about toxic comments it makes instagram a great place to promote self love.
Hey Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you were able to take the situation and turn it into a lesson in the end. I went through something similar however, I knew who posted it since it was on his personal account. He screenshotted one of my posts then proceeded to make a mean comments and claim things about me, which was odd to be honest because this guy was across the country and we have never spoken before, just mutuals on instagram. This made me a little insecure but people began defending me and at that point I realized I was worth more than what he was saying so I blocked him.
Social media is such a downer and can be very toxic when you don’t know your own worth. However, it does serve as a good networking platform. I’ve met and follow a lot of people who continue to inspire me to be my best self. Anyways, I wish you the best in life and you’re beautiful!
Hey Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteInstagram can be a great app to share the world who you are but can also be a terrible place that has a lot of hatred and cyber bulling. I applaud you for having the confidence to share your experience with Instagram and how that experience helped shape who you are today. Lots of people are insecure about their physical appearance but its important to remember beauty comes from within. Awesome post about how a social media app can change someones life in a negative way in the moment but eventually turned into a positive.
Hey Priscilla,
Deletei'm glad that you don't let others make something out of you but instead take control and stand above the rest. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and for those who don't understand that are probably going through issues of their own. But Social Media has taken a turn of categorizing women based off their looks, which people don't really get to see their personality. That's why its best to take a break from social media and build more relationships in person as opposes to instagram.