Whatever: A Short Analysis Of The Selfie.

     Warning: I use "they" to describe specific individuals because it's gender inclusive. If you're really serious about traditional grammar, brace yourself. 

     The time has come to talk about it: the dreaded selfie! If you've never seen a selfie before (a.k.a you've been living under a rock void of any internet usage) here are some examples: 

Me being Justin Timberlake.

Justin Timberlake being a better Justin Timberlake than me. #notbitter

Meryl Streep and Hilary Clinton being undeniably cool.

Rihanna lookin' fabulous.

James Franco being patriotic (and so cute hehehe).

Miley bein' Miley.

     So, there you have it. A whole bunch of celebrities and me and the infamous selfie. In our society today, the selfie is pretty normal. Most people in most places are taking selfies most of the time and for some reason, people have a lot to say about it. There are a few different points of view I've heard people take on this pressing issue and I'd like to talk about that, and then I'd like to talk about how I feel about selfies. So here we go:

1. People believe that many people take selfies to A) make themselves look better than they actually do in real life by using editing software, and B) get confirmation from other people that they're good looking. To all of you who feel this way, that's neat. It's cool that you have an opinion on selfies, I guess. If you don't like them, that's okay. The thing that I don't like about this point of view is that it inherently has a shitload of judgement embedded in it a lot of the time. Let's start with Part A): peeps have a problem with filters. Okay cool, but tell me, please: what's the difference between a person putting a filter on a picture and a person putting make up on their face? Both alter the appearance and both are put there because the person in charge of the subject (a.k.a THEMSELVES) wants it there. To this, the person holding this point of view may say something along the lines of "Yeah, and isn't it terrible that people think they look better that way?" And my answer to you is no. Because who are you to judge what a person does to THEIR OWN PERSON. They are an independent human being with thoughts and feelings and they probably put a lot of effort into this photo. Filters on photos and make up on faces are both artistic outlets. Sure, you can say that they're superficial and you would never do such a thing yourself, and that's okay FOR YOU but people should be allowed to do whatever they want with themselves without your judgement. So save your "Awe, this poor girl is so insecure she feels the need to post a photo of herself with all of this make up and all of these filters just to feel like she's pretty boo hoo hoo" for your own brain and your own Instagram account and your own face. People should be free to express themselves in whatever way they feel most comfortable and it's okay to say you don't like that for YOU and you only, not for them. Part B): the confirmation issue. I've heard this said more than is acceptable. "The only reason people take selfies is for confirmation from people that they're attractive." And you know, a lot of people probably do take selfies for that reason. Maybe they only get "likes" on photos and no compliments in real life interactions and these "likes" make up for their lack of attention from people. I don't know that for sure, but I know why I take selfies and I'll share that with you. I take selfies because I think it's entertaining. I take selfies because I like to write stupid captions underneath my photos on Instagram. I take selfies on days when I feel like I look really nice and maybe I want other people to see how cool my eyebrows look. I take selfies because I get bored when I'm alone all the time. But mostly, I take selfies for memories and I think that's something that really gets me about people hating on selfies all the time. My opponents reading this are probably like, "What? You like to remember how your own face looked on a certain day?" And my answer to you is yes, opponent. Sometimes my lipstick looks nice and I want to remember that. Me taking a photo of my face is not a political statement (it can be though - I'll get to that later), it's a simple photo that I wanted to put on the internet for that reason, and for that reason alone - because I wanted to. And that should be okay because it isn't up to anyone else to decide what I put on the internet. It's my decision. I think that the "daily selfie" could be a really beautiful thing if people would just give it a chance. Having an image that represents a day that you had could be the only physical "souvenir", if you will, from that day, and I think that's pretty cool. So, what I'm saying with this particular point of view is that yeah, a lot of people take selfies to feel better about themselves, to show everyone their cool outfit that day, to make memories with their friends, and that's fine. If you don't wanna selfie, you don't gotta selfie. But don't judge people that do because it's just a fucking PHOTO and it's not your life.  

     Also, as I kind of mentioned already, selfies can function as more than photos. On January 23rd, 2014 the Instagram community started a hashtag movement: "#fuckyouputin". Basically, the idea is to post a selfie on Instagram with a middle finger raised showing Vladimir Putin that a lot of people in the world don't agree with the way he's been treating citizens of Russia. If you're able to go on Instagram, search that hashtag. I don't want to say thousands because I'm not sure, but definitely hundreds of people uploaded photos with their middle fingers raised and it's pretty powerful. There was also a picture of a t-shirt that said "Putin, you can't sit with us", which I thought was really funny, but that's beside the point. What I'm saying is, yeah, selfies can be annoying and they probably make up a lot of what's on your news feed every day, but they can also do cool things. I'm not saying you should go take a selfie because it'll change the world or anything like that, I just think it's interesting. 

     I promised my opinion on selfies earlier, so here it is: I like them. I like taking them and I like looking at them. They can be super funny but also artistic, and I like that. But mostly, I like them because they're photos and photos last forever. They capture a moment, even if it is just you doin' the Miley tongue in your bathroom mirror. Seeing that photo forty years later might make you really happy, you never know. I think selfies are cool if you like taking them, and it's also okay if you don't because whatever, you know? I feel like a lot of people are going to read this and be like, "Wow Jenelle, this is a pretty trivial thing to write about." I'm pretty good at predicting arguments before they come at me, huh? Do you see a trend here? I come prepared for war. Anyways, to you, I say, yeah it is trivial. What's even more trivial is the fact that I feel like I have to defend myself because of this. I like my own face, so kill me, you know? Is it that threatening for a person to be confident in their appearance?  Basically, I wrote this to say that I don't think people should be able to dictate each others' choices. If you must, if you hate selfies too much to even think about them as real things, use this as a metaphor. Another example could be if someone didn't ever tie their shoelaces. If you're friends with this person, you're gonna see their shoelaces a lot, and sure, it might irritate you but it isn't hurting you and that's the way they like to wear their shoes, so it's not your place to say anything. Have your opinions but apply them to yourself and the way you live your life, not to the way others live theirs. If you didn't like this post, I'm not sorry because it was fun to write and I'm just too empty of emotion to care. Enjoy selfies if you want, and feel free to put twelve fucking filters on your next one if you want to because it's your decision. That's all I have to say. Goodnight. 

You Best Be Makin' Up Yo Mind.

     I used to not wear make up for a few reasons. I went through a "realization period", I call it, in my last year of high school. In this span of time, I came to realize that there's a lot of stuff that matters more than what that girl might have said about me behind my back last week. Of course, deep down, I always knew this. I had always been environmentally conscious throughout my adolescent years and all that good stuff, but it took a while for me to realize that I actually had to do real things in my own life to make any sort of a difference in other peoples' ideas and lives. So I started to take on my ideology in a physical sense. I stopped eating meat, stopped doing anything to my hair, stopped washing my hair, and of course, stopped wearing make up. I focused my energy on learning and reading everything I possibly could about all things. And I enjoyed my life so thoroughly in that year! I learned so much and cared so much about a bunch of different things. The most valuable lesson that I took from this stage in my life is that once a person looks past superficial bullshit, she can really appreciate the amount of time and the amount of space in her life that she has for more important projects and information. And I think that's pretty cool. But I don't ignore my appearance anymore and I now wear make up most of the time, though I'm not saying it's wrong of you if you prefer to not wear make up, of course. I think that's awesome! I still try really hard to learn as much as I can about a lot of things, but I've changed a few aspects of myself since those days and now I'm going to tell you why.
     When I first started learning about feminism, I was all like, "Shit, I shouldn't wear make up ever again." This was due to the fact that I was pretty uneducated and in the early stages of my feminist development. I was still under the influence of the stereotypes that said "real" feminists should never touch a tube of lipstick ever. I had learned about the atrocities of advertising agencies: the never-ending vicious cycle of the anti-aging conspiracy, the fact that most CEOs of make up companies are men, the constant reoccurrence of the "ideal woman", etc. Of course, a feminist is not supposed to look like the "ideal woman", so why would she buy make up, right?

Maybe because she wants to?

     I struggled with this for a while - the idea that if I started wearing make up again I wouldn't be taken seriously as a feminist or I would be labelled with the ultimately offensive term: "lipstick feminist". Then I realized that a) I shouldn't give a shit and b) I really shouldn't give a shit. First of all, I should be able to do whatever the hell I feel like doing whenever I feel like doing it. If a person chooses to take my feminism less seriously because I adore filling in my eyebrows, then I know for a fact that I'm not the one who needs to rethink her basic morals. Second of all, and this goes along with my first point, I should never be looked down upon, especially by other women - feminist women (where is the sisterhood?) - for what I choose to put on my face. Another person who shares the same feelings about equality as I do should not be discriminating against me because of the way I look. On a person to person basis, that's completely wrong. 

     I understand that advertising agencies want me to look a certain way. I understand that theoretically, make up is a male's invention to make women appear the way that men want them to appear. And I do care about this. Of course I care about this! But I like the way that my face looks with make up on. I also like the way my face looks without it. I like the way my legs look unshaven just as much as I like them when they're smooth. My nails look pretty good when I cut them sometimes; should I feel guilty about that too? My body is my body and I am free to do what I want with it. My opinions and thoughts shouldn't be of lesser value simply because some days I choose to wear red lipstick. Whether I'm wearing lipstick or not, the ideas that come out of my mouth are still intelligent and relevant and worth listening to. And of course this applies to men as well! If men want to wear nail polish, their opinions shouldn't be of any less importance. Frickin' equality, guys. That's all I'm saying. Sure, I could wear make up or I couldn't. Either way I'm still  a human being and I still deserve respect. 

     This argument translates into a lot of other aspects of life as well. Basically what I'm trying to get across here is that a socially conscious woman/man should be able to do whatever she/he wants to her/his face - piercings, eyelash extensions, tattoos, war paint, more piercings, no make up, lots of make up - and still get as much respect as any other person would. Discrimination is uncool and I'd really like for people to be able to make their own decisions without being frowned upon for it. 

     Peace out, kids.