One of the things that many people don’t realize about self hate is that it is a form of internalized violence that can cause great harm to a person’s esteem, psych and overall outlook on life. It can make them feel like they are unworthy of life or of happiness. This violence can drive people to alter their appearance to one that would be deemed more acceptable to the general public, in hopes that it will improve how people treat them and how they view themselves. This is where the music video “Try” by Colbie Caillat comes in. In the video, Colbie is simply trying to get her audience to remove their various forms of alterations and show their natural form.
The point of this video is not saying that its wrong to want to change up your style. Its more of the motive behind those changes. If you are making changes to yourself for the purpose of getting other people to like or accept you, it will never turn out good. The point is to be comfortable in your own skin and be happy with yourself regardless of what other people think. We live in a vain society today and the opinion of others can make people hate themselves. So many strive towards this unrealistic expectation of what we are supposed to look like, speak like and act like to be deemed “acceptable” and along the way, they lose who they once were. That is why in the video, the phrase “Do you like you?” is repeated. It serves as a reminder that a person’s first duty is to love themselves. You are the one living in you, so you have to be ok with you.
Self hate does not seem like it would be the kind of thing that is considered a violent act through and through but not all violence is physical, nor is it instantaneous. In cases where it is coming from within, the violence has to build up in a person over time. It can become like a cancer, spreading to every feeling and emotion until it’s an all consuming. Even though the video features only females, self hate affects men and women of all ages. It is something that has to be worked through and talked about, not ignored or brushed over.
The point of this video is not saying that its wrong to want to change up your style. Its more of the motive behind those changes. If you are making changes to yourself for the purpose of getting other people to like or accept you, it will never turn out good. The point is to be comfortable in your own skin and be happy with yourself regardless of what other people think. We live in a vain society today and the opinion of others can make people hate themselves. So many strive towards this unrealistic expectation of what we are supposed to look like, speak like and act like to be deemed “acceptable” and along the way, they lose who they once were. That is why in the video, the phrase “Do you like you?” is repeated. It serves as a reminder that a person’s first duty is to love themselves. You are the one living in you, so you have to be ok with you.
Self hate does not seem like it would be the kind of thing that is considered a violent act through and through but not all violence is physical, nor is it instantaneous. In cases where it is coming from within, the violence has to build up in a person over time. It can become like a cancer, spreading to every feeling and emotion until it’s an all consuming. Even though the video features only females, self hate affects men and women of all ages. It is something that has to be worked through and talked about, not ignored or brushed over.
