Who are you to tell us what to do?

Last week, I came across an article titled "Ladies, Please Stop Doing This On Instagram". I'm pretty apt to reading interesting articles, so naturally I clicked, and my eyes raced across the screen.

I quickly became angry at the words staring back at me.

This one person (which, I have to point out is a male, so he has never possessed a woman's body) made an article that he tried to pass off as something that encourages self-love and self-confidence, but he backhands us all in the same breath.

There's a huge disclaimer at the top of the article, where Charles writes "This post isn’t about the men who gawk and drool over these women, it’s about the women themselves. THEIR self-esteems (or lack thereof) being fueled by the wrong things, and them offering a singular perception of their value. Beauty is great, but it shouldn’t be the only source of your self-confidence."

If this article isn't about the "men who drool over these women" then what prompted the article? Why are you so mad at women who post their bodies on Instagram (or Facebook, or Twitter, or any social media really)?

I understand you have a teenage daughter, and you want her to feel good about herself, to not get wrapped up in the sexualized culture of today's society and that's okay! If you see someone online posting provocative pictures and they are underage, I am all for talking to the girl or her parents and explaining why that's not appropriate. But these other women are adults, adults who can make their own choices regarding what parts of their bodies they would like to show.

This entire piece contradicts his very first statement: "You might be beautiful. You might be built. You might love your body and have the confidence to show it proudly…and that’s great. Seriously, I’m happy for you (no sarcasm)."

So then why, Charles, do you spend the next 800 words telling women that if they're happy about their bodies, we should just "go get a modeling job" and that we shouldn't post pictures of our bodies unless we're being paid to do so. That doesn't sound like someone who's happy for women who are self-confident.

You actually said "It doesn’t make you special, it makes you an adult film star, but without the paycheck." Since when did self-confidence equate to porn? I'm sorry, the last time I checked, boobs one and ONLY function is to feed a baby. Our breasts aren't there for our satisfaction, and they're sure as hell not there for any man's satisfaction either.

My body was not made for you, or anyone else. I was the one who used to look in the mirror and hate what i saw. I was the one who was sacred to wear a bathing suit for fear of looking "too fat."

So many other women and I spent so much time in our lives being unhappy with our bodies, and now we're finally starting to promote loving yourself and being confident in your body type-- and here you are trying to take it away from us again.

We should not be ashamed for loving our bodies and so what if we want to show them off? Long hours in the gym, diet changes, hell even surgeries are enough of a reason for someone to want to show off their new look. You said at the end of your article "You will only attract the wrong kind of guy that way, and you are selling out women everywhere—including my 15-year-old daughter"

I need to reiterate my earlier statement:

My body was not made for you, or anyone else.

Maybe, just maybe, women post our bodies because we WANT to post our bodies, not for male attention. Take this as teaching moment and teach your 15-year-old daughter that her body wasn't made for male attention, teach her that her worth isn't determined by likes or shares, but also teach her that she shouldn't be shamed for posting pictures of her body if she's an adult. If you can't find the time to do this, give her my info and I will be happy to fill her in.