Self-Sexualization For Likes: Why?

R.I.P. Floppy Disks

As a 90s baby who has experienced both floppy disks and Airdrop,  I have come to embrace much of what the 'new age' has brought forth. We now have apps for just about everything, and there is no denying that our lives have been simplified in ways we could've never predicted 10 years ago. We can instantaneously chat with our families across the world, and update anyone with just a quick tap. While this seems like pure gold I must say that there are complexities to living in a world like this.These interactive platforms have paved way for a somewhat toxic emergence of influence and persuasion, to say the least.

Advertisers Have Reach

Before I ruffle up your feathers let me start out by saying this. Unlike any time before, advertisement companies now have the ability to reach the eyes and minds of hundreds of millions of human beings. There is no denying that social media has revolutionized the concept of influence. If looked at from most angles, social media has mostly been a positive dynamic in our generation, however, it has also bred an implicit manipulation on "what it takes to be noticed" and I'd like to focus on how this has specifically influenced women.

 As it turns out, women have taken to sexualizing their bodies to popularize themselves on social media platforms, especially on Instagram. Now, before I continue, let me repudiate any assumption that I am somehow against females embracing their beautiful bodies or their abilities to empower other women to accept themselves. I can avow to the idea that the representation of diverse female bodies creates a subconscious alleviation for other ladies. Women are picked apart daily and reminded of everything they are not, so having brave women show the world that they're happy to be in the skin they're in is by far not a bad thing.

Women Are More Than Just Their Bodies

The issue at hand here is not social media being bombarded with images of women. The issue is that women are beginning to promote themselves as JUST being their bodies. Women on the gram are promoting their bodies and their looks as if that is literally all they have to offer. That alone is the part that has me weary. The male-dominated society we currently live in has already done a great job at indoctrinating women to believe that their bodies are their greatest weapons as if our minds and spirits were not capable of dominating any f-ing thing we applied ourselves to. But now (IN THE MASSES) women are spreading that rationale among themselves and trying to create their niche in the world by just being sexualized figures

Based on the countless conversations I've had with women of all ages and backgrounds, this is a cultural shift that has transcended barriers.

So, I ask this: are we going to accept this as a normal part of our culture? How will this affect the upcoming generation of young girls whose principles and self-worth aren't quite solidified? Is this false empowerment?

We're going to lay it all out. Right here. Right now.