I am taking a turn from the usual adventure/travel blogs today to write about an Instagram challenge – that’s right, an Instagram challenge known as the #20beautifulwomen challenge. It’s quite a distinct turn from the usual though I felt this one was worth writing about. Now, I am sure there are probably rules in blog land to stay on the one theme but whatever – it’s my blog and I’ll write what I feel right? Why stick to rules when you can express yourself.
#20beautifulwomen challenge – My Thoughts On This IG Challenge
My thoughts
Anyway, I digress, back to the blog.
The idea of the #20beautifulwomen challenge is that once you are tagged, you post a selfie and tag 20 other beautiful women. The selfie should be one that you are proud of and that makes you feel beautiful.
You know when you’re in selfie-taking mode and you look cute but when you glance at the picture you just captured you are surprised (and horrified) to find that it resembles a cross between a hippopotamus and ET. Then you take 46 more only to glance through the entire camera roll to pick that one selfie that turns out on point.
That one is the selfie you share with this challenge.
So why share it? Sitting in my bed last night, with a fluffy white fur-baby curled up by my side, I sat and googled the challenge in an attempt to find the point of it all. In between my scrolling and sips of tea, I found that the idea is to empower women to feel beautiful while promoting an increase in self-esteem. Rightfully so.
We all know that we are constantly bombarded with society’s image of the ‘perfect woman’ or the image of ‘beauty’. Not only are these images professionally enhanced and grossly unobtainable, but they also boast very little diversity. Personally, I believe that it is our diversity which makes us most beautiful. These photoshopped images of bronzed, plucked, starved, tinted, toned, pint-size women that we constantly face can get us down.
I can honestly say that I do not know many women who view themselves as beautiful which is crazy to me because they are all such beautiful beings. I do, however, constantly hear about their ‘flaws’. “Too big here” or “too small there” needing to hit that diet/gym/detox… the list goes on. I constantly hear this and wish my friends could see themselves as I see them because they are gorgeous! I like the idea of this challenge to promote our own individual beauty and to spread the love to other beautiful women we know.
As you may have guessed, I took the challenge and nominated a group of my Instagram followers to do the same. (@katieshowblog to follow along) Sure it’s not the most amazing selfie you will see. I picked it because it was taken during my first trip to Hawaii to visit my guy. The beginning of our very long distance, international love adventure. My happiness is what makes this picture beautiful to me. Side note, you can only tag 20 people in a photo on Instagram, but you can tag many more in comments so why stop at 20?
I encourage you to take the challenge also and share your favorite selfie that makes you feel beautiful. Now, this challenge and social media as a whole, does encourage narcissism so keep that in mind when posting. Think beauty, self-esteem, and empowerment as opposed to a cheap grab for attention or competition for likes. Let’s celebrate our beauty together. Men are beautiful as well, so tag some of your amazing man-friends and spread the love.
One last point is that beauty is not limited to aesthetics. The real beauty comes from the unique individual inside the bag of bones we are given. It seems silly to focus on just physical beauty so I am taking this one step further and celebrating our other beautiful qualities. I have picked the 20 people I tagged (using initials to protect their privacy) and listed below one amazingly beautiful feature that they possess.
View this post on Instagram
Relatable: Travel And Body Positivity – What Travel Can Teach Us About Loving Ourselves
TL – Strong, fearless, adventurous, loving and inspiring.
TK – Great leader and always there when you need her.
LV – Dreamers spirit and sees no limitations.
MT – Positive and loveable spirit.
KE – Can figure anything out, smart and practical.
LC – The most kind and loving heart.
LL – What you see is what you get, no games and has a heart of gold.
BK – Friendly, welcoming and can get us all inspired to work hard during class.
SD – Great sense of humor.
EA – Pocket rocket superwoman who is capable of anything she puts her mind to.
RW – Beautiful, creative, natural spirit.
JG – Amazingly, talented photographer.
NC – Adventurous, nature lover.
BM – Warm, friendly and happy spirit.
LWC – Easy going and always ready to share a laugh.
SH – Contagious love of cuddly animals!
MV – Friendly, happy, warm and funny spirit.
KB – Can make an adventure out of anything – even long road trips.
JM – Fabulous travel buddy with an explorers spirit.
VT – So much fun to be around and loves to learn about the world around her.
If you enjoyed my thoughts on the #20beautifulwomen challenge, please pin it or share it to help spread the positivity! Let me know what you think and I look forward to seeing all of your beautiful pictures 🙂
Katie
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