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A Picture of Confidence


With with recent advent of National Selfie Day, social media became awash with the smiling faces of what some would deem the ‘modern self-portrait.’ Self-portraits have a long history that has transcended various creative mediums, with camera phones arguably just the latest way of capturing our most most honest (or sometimes creative) self-images. 

Of all these snap shots, however, it is invariably the rawest, most soul-baring portraits which are the most impactful. Far from the negative or narcissistic connotations ‘selfies’ might have, these images have tremendous potential to communicate important messages about body confidence and self image, spreading the word that imperfections are not only ‘normal’, but to be admired for their uniqueness and complexity. Here, TV Chef Dean Ewardsdescribes the anxieties that lie beneath the surface of this inspiringly candid shot: . ‘It’s that time of year when I start to go darker due to sun exposure and the new patches of vitiligo start to appear, it’s always a tough time of year but it’s one I’m getting used to. My daughter Indie recently told me she would like patches like mine, this baffled me, then it got me thinking of a quote I read recently, “Where are the Diana’s in a world full of Kardashians?” I’m already panicking at how I’m going to deal with Indie as she continues her journey into becoming a young woman. OK she’s still only 9 but young girls especially are very impressionable, how can I convince her to be herself, be proud of herself and unashamedly embrace the person she is if I continue to have hang ups about the things that make me different? I’ve actually grown to accept and even like my patches, I guess they make me truly individual. We are all individual, start to love your so called flaws because we are only here for a short time, you could be spending so much of your time and energy on things that don’t really matter that before you know it life has passed you by.’ 


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