Shooting women’s bodies with the click of a shutter
When women hit the button on their cameras, snapping an image of themselves they shoot a version of their bodies they want to the world to see. All people take selfies, yet it is women and girls bodies that are the most scrutinised and sexualised. To be a woman on any form of social media is to confirm to societal expectations of what female bodies need to look like, the aesthetic we expect as much as what we buy into. To shoot one’s self is an act of self-actualisation, an understand of angles, lighting, clothing, make-up, proportions, and filters. You are never woman alone with a camera, you are always assessing yourself through the lens others taught you whether you post or not. It is both patriarchal and deeply misogynistic to assume that all bodies must conform to the every shifting expectations we place on them, with the end result women and girls are left perpetually dissatisfied with the bodies and looks they have.
The rise of influencers and the ability to make money of your digital self has moved old school celebrity culture into a stratospheric beautify and fashion industrial complex. I genuinely have no issue with anyone who chooses influencer or social media content creator as their career because it is damn hard work to make it pay a living wage. What I do have an issue with is the key aesthetics women within those industries are expected to…
