Self Hatred is a project about body image issues.

“There is nothing wrong with your body, but there is a lot wrong with the messages which try to convince you otherwise” -Rae Smith.

Women are told throughout their entire lives that they aren’t good enough and their bodies need to look a certain way to be “acceptable.” Women should be allowed to feel comfortable in their own bodies, regardless of how they look or how they want to present themselves. Women should not have to look a certain way to feel confident, everyone deserves to be happy with their bodies.

I myself struggle with this issue. I often find myself looking in the mirror and nitpicking all of my features. I always worry about the clothes I wear and how it looks on my body and what others will think about me. I want to find my confidence. In my project “Women are beautiful” I am hoping to seek a form of self-discovery and find the beauty within myself. I want to explore the insecurities that I feel and relate them to a more universal perspective towards women in general. I know that I am not alone in this struggle. I want other women to feel secure in their own bodies and not worry about appealing to others as well.

Women shouldn’t feel ashamed of the way their bodies naturally look. Stretchmarks occur naturally during puberty as our bodies grow or after giving birth. Acne is common amongst many teen girls and is typically due to the body’s natural hormones. Cellulite happens because women naturally store more fat in certain areas. These are all things that happen naturally, yet women are shamed for having them. I think those little parts of our bodies are beautiful, they show that we are human. No one is perfect, and no one should feel like they have to be. We should celebrate our bodies because it does a lot for us. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our bodies.

I hope that women will look at my project and realize we can overcome this struggle. 97% of women have a negative view of their body image. That number is way too high. We need to change as a society and learn how to appreciate women for who they are and not the way they look. We need to stop expecting women to adhere to unrealistic beauty standards. We need to stop judging women for how they choose to dress or what their bodies look like. Women should no longer be expected to please others and should start focusing on their own happiness. After a lifelong battle of being dissatisfied with ourselves, we deserve to finally accept our bodies for how beautiful they truly are.