Tell The World You're Beautiful

'Telling the world that they are beautiful and conscious of it is one of the most political acts a woman can do.' - Amelia Bellows

I discovered this line when looking up the origin of #20beautifulwomen. It immediately became one of my favourite things a human has ever said. [full article here]

For those who don't know, #20beautifulwomen is a tag which encourages women to post a photo of themselves where they feel beautiful. In turn, they tag a further twenty women to join in. And so it goes. Whatever the origin, I think this is an inspiring tag. Too often we're surrounded by negativity about ourselves and our bodies. Advertising tricks us into thinking that we'll only be beautiful if we change something about ourselves. Magazines lower our self-confidence as we're made to think we're not beautiful because we don't fulfil a certain ideal. In general, society is pretty good at making us not feel good enough. This tag challenges that.

What Bellows says above is incredibly important. Industries feed off women feeling crap about themselves, to take a stand and be assertive about your beauty is huge. Letting the world know that you are aware of your own beauty puts the power in your hands.

The selfie plays a significant role in all of this. With the aid of a front-facing camera we each have the opportunity to be our own photographer. We are in control of the angle, the lighting, the timing. It's us as individuals who hold the power of our presentation. With the click of a button you can demonstrate to the world the confidence you hold in your appearance. We have the opportunity to break barriers.

I am a keen supporter of the selfie but to harness the true power of #20beautifulwomen I think we need to go further. I was inspired to write this by Beth who posted a stunning photo of herself joining the tag on Instagram. The photo was one taken of her by someone else. As brilliant as the selfie is, her post made me realise the importance of accepting your beauty in all photos. Those photos taken of you when you aren't in control are equally as important as those when you are.

When photos taken of me appear online, I have been incredibly critical of my own appearance. What saddens me is that I do this even to the photos when I'm clearly at my happiest. When I laugh and it's captured on camera, I can look a little bit manic. My eyes crinkle up, my mouth sets wide and I'm afraid that I look 'too masculine'. As if any of that is reason to hate the photograph. I'm writing this as a promise to myself that I will no longer do that. These photos are precious ones that have captured me as I am in life: I am happy, I am joyous and, yes, a little bit manic. I am beautiful.

It may seem narcissistic to say those words but positivity, especially body positivity and confidence, is hugely important. I truly encourage everyone to join in with #20beautifulwomen. Tell the world you’re beautiful.