Exposing yourself.

If you know anything about me, you know that my entire life is online, and I have very strong opinions about the types of content people put online about themselves.

That’s why, when my friend Melanie decided to start a guest blogging series about body image issues on her website, I was shocked when I was one of the first few to pipe up and offer a post. I was even more shocked when, a few weeks later, I decided to write another post.

I come from a very sarcastic family and, being a cynical person, I generally joke around a lot. I started joking about my body image issues at a young age and have poorly masked my insecurities for a long time. When Melanie asked me to write a post about my breast reduction in December 2007, I didn’t think I’d have such a hard time writing it. I also didn’t realize how much time and energy went into making the decision to have elective surgery (even though I don’t feel it was elective).

Then, after reading the body image posts each and every day, I realized I still had a lot to say about my body. I decided to write another post, not about my issues with my body, but how I express my internal emotions externally on my body through my tattoos.

Although I didn’t really struggle with putting the personal content online, I absolutely did struggle with putting pictures of my tattoos online. I don’t normally expose them unless I’m with family and friends simply because of their placement. I have just three visible tattoos and they’re almost always covered up, too. Still, I’m okay with having that information out there.

While I don’t normally agree with putting very private, sensitive information out for the public to consume, here’s why I’m okay with having that information in the public realm until the internets dissolve:

1. I carefully thought about what I put out there. I didn’t rush either of the posts and tried to make them relevant to others.
2. They accurately portray my personality. Nothing is false, no pretenses.
3. I don’t say anything negative about anyone or anything else.

Posting these things would generally go against my personal online branding standards, my online brand is continually evolving just as the internet and the ways in which we communicate evolve.