How Does Self Respect Redefined
Jessica Epperson
Professor Carolyn May
English 1301
21st March, 2014
Self-Respect Redefined According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, self-respect is literally defined as “a proper respect for oneself as a human being.”1 Respect, from the same dictionary, is defined as “a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.”2 Thus, it is fair to say that the act of respecting yourself is understanding that you, as a human being, are important and treating yourself in an appropriate way. However, society’s concept of self-respect has drastically altered this definition. The self-respect society preaches and teaches about is defined by society’s morals on sex and image, rather than a person’s own values. Yahoo! Answers is a surprising place where this is clearly demonstrated. One question …show more content…
I’ve come across two of these on a Tumblr in the form of gifs. Each of these gifs is basically the same thing. A girl unzips her jacket or lifts up her shirt and over her otherwise naked breasts, she has a sign taped that reads “self-respect.” In war with these images, I have seen others posing full on nude or nearly nude with a sign reading the same thing: “self-respect.” Then there are the images containing women who are chubby or fat and once again, nude or nearly nude, with signs proclaiming their self-respect and self-love for their body, fat and all. So, what’s the difference here? All of these girls have self-respect, according to the literal definition. Each of them is treating themselves and their bodies according to their own personal values. However, the girls in the first example are doing something else: they are attempting to measure other people’s self-respect by their own
Professor Carolyn May
English 1301
21st March, 2014
Self-Respect Redefined According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, self-respect is literally defined as “a proper respect for oneself as a human being.”1 Respect, from the same dictionary, is defined as “a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.”2 Thus, it is fair to say that the act of respecting yourself is understanding that you, as a human being, are important and treating yourself in an appropriate way. However, society’s concept of self-respect has drastically altered this definition. The self-respect society preaches and teaches about is defined by society’s morals on sex and image, rather than a person’s own values. Yahoo! Answers is a surprising place where this is clearly demonstrated. One question …show more content…
I’ve come across two of these on a Tumblr in the form of gifs. Each of these gifs is basically the same thing. A girl unzips her jacket or lifts up her shirt and over her otherwise naked breasts, she has a sign taped that reads “self-respect.” In war with these images, I have seen others posing full on nude or nearly nude with a sign reading the same thing: “self-respect.” Then there are the images containing women who are chubby or fat and once again, nude or nearly nude, with signs proclaiming their self-respect and self-love for their body, fat and all. So, what’s the difference here? All of these girls have self-respect, according to the literal definition. Each of them is treating themselves and their bodies according to their own personal values. However, the girls in the first example are doing something else: they are attempting to measure other people’s self-respect by their own