The Mysterious Disappearance of Self Respect

Isolated conversations​ with friends aside,  I tend suppress my opinion via social media on controversial topics. Part of me doesn't want to offend anyone, but a larger part of me just wants to avoid trolling or the inevitable and unnecessary arguments that would ensue. To be honest, debating the colors of an ugly dress (white and gold, for the record) was frustrating enough and I may as well just stay off of the trending topics grid.

However, at some point in all things enough is enough and I cannot keep my opinion muted any longer. I don't know if the trend I'm about to mention has a name or not, but I know that what I'm writing about here is prevalent on social media and it needs to stop. You don't want to have a dog without a name, so for the purpose of this post, I'll call it "Women asserting themselves unnecessarily and inappropriately."

Women are angry that no one wants to see their exposed breasts while eating dinner. Jaime King (though I love her as an actress) posts a topless photo of herself, calling it "self love" as she is pregnant with her second child. Buzzfeed has an article called "I went a week commando to see what it did to my vagina and personality." Obese women are posting predominantly unclothed photos, again, promoting self love. Oh, and the latest: an artist posts "menstruation themed" photos on Instagram, in an effort to prove that society is misogynistic as Instagram removes the content.

I won't even get into how I feel about this from a Christian perspective and I'll solely stick to my platform as a woman. Why has this society lost all sense of morality? Since when is "self love," promoting nudity and broadcasting (what should be) personal issues considered the norm? Have we as women lost all self respect and common sense?

Sure, pregnancy brings human life and that's awesome - but you can show that through photos of your child, or clothed photos of yourself. A naked photo doesn't depict the beauty and intricacy of life. Yes, it's wonderful for you to love yourself no matter what size you are - but keep your body fir yourself and your husband (and this goes for the fit people as well). Selfies are made for self love - you don't have to be naked. Also, it really shouldn't have to be said that no one cares that you went a week without underwear to assert your freedom and no one wants to see your bloody tampon... but apparently there is a caliber of people out there who are praising these behaviors.

If you love yourself and are proud of who you are, then props to you because that is a genuine struggle for women of all ages, including myself. I just don't get it. If you want to be respected as a woman, excel in your job. Love others. Volunteer. Find a hobby. Do something spectacular. Don't post a photo of yourself on the toilet and play symphonies of girl power. Being female doesn't make you awesome, it's who you are as a person that counts. You say you want men to respect you, but truth be told, you're not respecting yourself.