Let’s Try: Take an honest selfie

Confession time: You know those new types of photos all the young, hip kids are taking these days? Those self shot, I think they call them. Oh, they’re called selfies? So you do know what I’m talking about then. Well, believe it or not, but I unknowingly contributed to the rise of their popularity. Yup, that’s right, friends. I pretty much invented the art of the selfie. Like Edison and the light bulb. Like Bell and the telephone. Like Psy and Gangnam Style.

I know, I know…that’s probably somewhat of an exaggeration. But I did find a few photos recently that would seem to support my claim. Take the two photos above, for example. I couldn’t have been more than 10 or 11, but I remember loving that camera. And back then, it was always of the disposable variety. Put one of those babies in my hand, and I’d just go to town. Snapping those photos of genuine moments made me feel free and gave me the opportunity to be myself. It was a chance to capture such a real second.

Maybe that’s why I’m so impressed with Dove’s new short film, the aptly titled Selfie. Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the short film helps mark the 10th anniversary of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign and explores how one group of girls takes selfies and what that says about beauty standards and girls’ confidence in today’s society. It’s sad at first, to see all the self-editing that goes on with the girls and their photos, but as the girls begin to take “honest selfies” — along with their mothers — a beautiful dialogue opens up. You can watch the full film here, and below is the short three-minute version…

So, all this body-positive honesty got me thinking: How awesome would it be if we all took honest selfies for the whole world to see? Wouldn’t that send a wonderful message? Such a life-affirming activity, don’t you think? And even better, why not do it on So About What I Said?

Here’s my idea: I invite you to snap an honest selfie of yourself (and don’t tell me you never take photos of yourself…I’ve seen lots of your cool pics on Instagram!) and send it to me, along with a couple sentences about what you love about yourself or how your photo is a good representation of yourself. Feel free to send your submissions to mellow1422 [at] aol [dot] com. I’ll share all your wonderful photos in a celebration post. Sound fun? Are you game, friends?

[Thanks, ELLE]