A Time to Love Yourself
Changing Times
In the early 2000s, the rising trend was based around creating an image of yourself that was a size 2, wore tacky graphic T-shirts, and despised your entire teenage existence because life was hard and you only had 50 friends on Myspace. In retrospect, the 2000s era seems like a completely different time from now.
As time strolls closer to 2020, we are reaching an era filled with self-love and self-acceptance. Big corporate companies have caught on to the rising trends of self-acceptance over conformity. Social media has subverted popular personal opinions. Celebrities are promoting the power of loving yourself, being confident in your natural appearance, and accepting yourself. In a time when self-love has become marketable and loving yourself is the biggest movement around, being insecure in your own personal image is now outside this era’s most popular trend.
What it Means to Love Yourself
What exactly does it mean to love yourself? To profess understanding of the subject is much easier than readily accepting the concept as a whole. There are many competing definitions to what it truly means to take care of yourself.
Some people define it as rejecting all other opinions that defy or contrast your own and cutting off those who subvert your personal positive image of yourself. Other definitions of self love include knowing when to take a break, taking time to enjoy yourself by partaking in activities not for fulfillment not money, and being less critical of your own personal image. Corporate companies advertise to these new trends of the human psyche and self-care that embody the concept of being strong, independent people or carefree, young adults who can afford to treat themselves.
However, the truth of the matter is that the definition of self-love has very little to do with others; Your definition of self-love depends on you. Self-love is simply described as making your own well-being and happiness your top priority, in whatever form that may be. Self-love is about putting yourself first, which could be done by creating healthy boundaries between you and others, or simply thinking about yourself instead of trying to please others.
In the past, society has been unkind to minorities and those who were simply just different from the majority of society. With the rise of inclusivity and self-pride in today’s society, self-Love is definitely ‘trending’.
Inclusivity
One of the top reasons for this rise in self-love is the rise of inclusivity. Throughout time, society has become massively more inclusive towards outlying members of society that have felt previously shamed or rejected — negativity that prevents the encouragement of self-love. However, with the rise of the inclusion of minorities in mass media, minorities have begun to feel like they are finally being seen and represented in today’s society.
For example, consider Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty makeup line. A previous issue with the beauty industry was the lack of variety in shades for ethnic women who did not have the rosy undertones commonly found in Caucasian women. Ethnic women would resort to spending more money by buying multiple shades of foundation and mixing them together to find that perfect shade instead of being able to pick it up at a store. Then came the Fenty Beauty line, which included one of the biggest varieties of skin tones in their foundation and concealer line. The Fenty line included every single shade in their collection, making sure that each customer would be provided with their specific shade and skin tone. This inclusion was well received by the public because no one felt excluded from this brand. It acknowledged that everyone is valid as a consumer of their line.
Inclusion is about being acknowledged as part of the whole. Sometimes our differences can make us self-separate from the majority because we feel like we don’t belong and are abnormal. The power of inclusion is strong because of the mass support that comes with it from people who identify with you. Inclusivity promotes the idea that so many others are walking down the same path of life and others will rise and help you in your journey. Self-love is significantly easier to understand when you can look around and see others loving and embracing parts of themselves and that you can see reflected in yourself. This rise in inclusivity is a strong reminder that you are not alone in this world.
Pride
The second top reason for the rise in self-love is pride. As time continues, society has learned to take pride in who they are and the things that make them different. Companies now advertise the desire to be confident and happy, not with who you could be, but exactly the person you are. This is assisted by a number of minorities and marginalized members of society finally stepping out into the sunlight of media. For so long, many marginalized members of society felt as though they were less than worthy because celebrated members of society didn’t look, love, or act like them.
Then things began to change. When Hollywood, politics, and social media take the time to celebrate people who are able to rise as members of minorities there is a surge or pride from those marginalized groups that those minorities come from. For example, take Anthony Mackie, who takes the helm as the newest Captain America, who happens to be African 
American, and Lashana Lynch who will play the first female James Bond ever. These choices by Hollywood gives a sense of pride to younger generations who can better visualize themselves as Captain America or James Bond – both roles who have traditionally only ever been portrayed as caucasion males. Another example is Halima Aden, the first woman to model for Sports Illustrated in a burkini who displayed the power and beauty any woman can portray no matter what she wears on the beach.
These images of power and pride, emphasize the fact that no one has any reason to feel ashamed about who they were born as. When society takes the time to celebrate the differences that make us all unique, being prideful in who you are is much less difficult. When you are urged to be confident about who you are then self-love and self-acceptance are sure to follow close behind.
Power in Self Acceptance
At the end of the day, the greatest portion of self-love must come from self-acceptance. In the past, we lived in a society which urged people to not love themselves and change in order to conform to society and what society deemed beautiful. However, as social media and technology connects the world and opens our eyes to larger views and mindsets, we are able to gain a greater appreciation for what makes us different. We, as a society, are taking massive steps towards true inclusion, pride, and self-love for all. Despite that fact, these are still the first steps of many that need to be taken towards a brighter future for tomorrow’s generation.
