katlinelizabeth
Against the grain.
This year my eyes were opened to a new world of cruelty, misunderstanding and judgement. A world of hurtful words, actions and repercussions. Rape culture is REAL.
I’ve seen someone I consider my family go through the most difficult ordeal of their life. I’ve seen them crushed and crucified, blamed and beaten down. And not once did I understand why anyone ever blamed them for the complete and total abuse they dealt with. It made me realize how many people go through this and then become ashamed of themselves; body and mind. I HATE that. I HATE that while we are on the cusp of 2014, we are still so close minded that we as human beings condone such horrible stigmas.
One of the things I get told and accused of the most is that I’m slutty, narcissistic, full-of-myself, craving attention. People tell me that I don’t respect myself. That I’m obsessed with myself. That I’ll take any attention, good or bad. And for the longest time I believed them, and it made me hate myself. It made be want to disappear because I thought that maybe if I hate myself, instead of loving myself and who I am, maybe people would finally like me. By cutting off my own self-esteem and no longer drawing any attention to myself, maybe other people would start thinking good things about me. MAYBE if I stopped being HAPPY, other people would APPROVE of MY life. Do you know how long I lived that way? TOO long. The SECOND that anyone believes that the opinions of others trumps the happiness you have with yourself is a second too long. It took me moving to a different state, meeting new people and being completely self-reliant to realize that by loving myself, I’m not being “slutty” or “narcissistic.” By loving myself, I’m not asking for “it” or any kind of attention. I’m being me. I’m loving myself. All of these misconceptions go back to people being so caught up in this awful culture of accusing without reason and judgement without understanding. We’re all so scared that our happiness with ourselves will chase off others, we don’t even realize how much we’re holding ourselves back.That needs to change.
You can’t expect everyone to love or accept you. But the sooner we stop judging others, the sooner that we can rid ourselves of the awful ideals that Rape Culture promote. You are not a slut for being happy with your body. You are not narcissistic for embracing who you are. You are NOT asking for it because you are wearing, saying, doing or posting ANYTHING.
Loving yourself is the first way to stop rape culture.
Being yourself is the BEST way to start loving yourself.
You are the most magnificent piece of artwork there is.There is only one of you and no brush stroke, sculpture or song can ever capture your essence. Do not hold back from being you. Be proud of yourself, your body. Nudity is NOT asking for it. It’s nudity. Simple as that.
Against the grain.
This year my eyes were opened to a new world of cruelty, misunderstanding and judgement. A world of hurtful words, actions and repercussions. Rape culture is REAL.
I’ve seen someone I consider my family go through the most difficult ordeal of their life. I’ve seen them crushed and crucified, blamed and beaten down. And not once did I understand why anyone ever blamed them for the complete and total abuse they dealt with. It made me realize how many people go through this and then become ashamed of themselves; body and mind. I HATE that. I HATE that while we are on the cusp of 2014, we are still so close minded that we as human beings condone such horrible stigmas.
One of the things I get told and accused of the most is that I’m slutty, narcissistic, full-of-myself, craving attention. People tell me that I don’t respect myself. That I’m obsessed with myself. That I’ll take any attention, good or bad. And for the longest time I believed them, and it made me hate myself. It made be want to disappear because I thought that maybe if I hate myself, instead of loving myself and who I am, maybe people would finally like me. By cutting off my own self-esteem and no longer drawing any attention to myself, maybe other people would start thinking good things about me. MAYBE if I stopped being HAPPY, other people would APPROVE of MY life. Do you know how long I lived that way? TOO long. The SECOND that anyone believes that the opinions of others trumps the happiness you have with yourself is a second too long. It took me moving to a different state, meeting new people and being completely self-reliant to realize that by loving myself, I’m not being “slutty” or “narcissistic.” By loving myself, I’m not asking for “it” or any kind of attention. I’m being me. I’m loving myself. All of these misconceptions go back to people being so caught up in this awful culture of accusing without reason and judgement without understanding. We’re all so scared that our happiness with ourselves will chase off others, we don’t even realize how much we’re holding ourselves back.That needs to change.
You can’t expect everyone to love or accept you. But the sooner we stop judging others, the sooner that we can rid ourselves of the awful ideals that Rape Culture promote. You are not a slut for being happy with your body. You are not narcissistic for embracing who you are. You are NOT asking for it because you are wearing, saying, doing or posting ANYTHING.
Loving yourself is the first way to stop rape culture.
Being yourself is the BEST way to start loving yourself.
You are the most magnificent piece of artwork there is.There is only one of you and no brush stroke, sculpture or song can ever capture your essence. Do not hold back from being you. Be proud of yourself, your body. Nudity is NOT asking for it. It’s nudity. Simple as that.