PODCAST: Empowerment and body positivity in the selfie age

These days, we hear an awful lot about “empowerment.” In an image-based culture, explicitly connected to social media, this has meant that young women’s understanding of ideas like “empowerment” and “positive body image” comes in the form of selfies and the positive reinforcement they get when they post objectified and sexualized images of themselves online. Yet, too often when we talk about things like objectification and body positivity, we get stuck in this conversation about “choice” and the way individual women may or may not feel about their own bodies, without pushing further.

Last week, this conversation exploded, yet again, in light of a naked selfie Kim Kardashian posted to twitter. While some wished that the reality TV star could find alternative avenues for validation and attention, others argued that we should support what has been construed has “confidence” in her body.

In order to explore some of these issues, I spoke with Lindsay Kite, PhD, and co-founder of Beauty Redefined, a project aimed at helping girls and women recognize, reject, and resist harmful messages about their bodies.

PODCAST: Empowerment and body positivity in the selfie age
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Meghan Murphy

Founder & Editor

Meghan Murphy is a freelance writer and journalist from Vancouver, BC. She has been podcasting and writing about feminism since 2010 and has published work in numerous national and international publications, including The Spectator, UnHerd, Quillette, the CBC, New Statesman, Vice, Al Jazeera, The Globe and Mail, and more. Meghan completed a Masters degree in the department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and is now exiled in Mexico with her very photogenic dog.