More Than A Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament

by Lexie Kite

A good rule of thumb is to consider each of your posts from the perspective of the most vulnerable person in your friends list or potential viewer—like the girl who is struggling with an eating disorder or self-harm who is ashamed of a body that is less “ideal” looking than yours (and is crushed by your comments about trying to lose weight before summer), or like the woman who shares your body type or skin condition or hair texture and is too self-conscious to leave her house without extreme measures to cover/hide/style/fix it (and would be emboldened by seeing you represent your reality without apology or announcement of your bravery). As you reconstruct your ideas of what makes you worthy and successful, the fleeting validation from others in response to your photos will hold less weight than it used to.