By Eleanor Morgan, Illustration: Janice Chang/The Observer, The Guardian, July 10, 2022
Believe in yourself. Be empowered. Show up. Love your body. Stand tall. How many times have you seen statements like these on social media? Or used to advertise products? All point towards confidence: a particular c-word that the modern woman cannot get away from.
Being self-confident is the command of our time. At some point in the past decade, women’s media seemed to shift from celebrity mockery and dieting advice to talking about “empowerment”. Parenting books told mums it was OK to be imperfect, wobbly and have stretch marks, as long as they were bringing up self-assured children. Beauty companies and fashion brands started telling us to love our bodies just the way they are. Along with the ascent of social media came a tide of feminism that prioritised self-care and welcomed imperfection. On the surface, we are living in a golden age of female confidence. But how much are we really feeling it?
Women are called on again and again to believe in themselves while gender, class and racial inequalities deepen. By suggesting that psychological blocks are holding women back, is our attention being drawn away from the society we live in? If capitalist enterprises like fashion brands tell us to celebrate our bodies as they are, yet only go up to a size 12, how deeply can we take in the message? Did women really have an innate lack of confidence in the first place, or have we been led to believe we have?
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