So I just posted my first reels on Insta recently and it made me wonder about the fear that so many people, particularly women have about being perceived.
I've heard it called "the witch wound", and especially female content creators relate to this a lot. It's basically a hidden remnant of trauma from being your authentic self, for fear of some form of punishment or being judged by society. This also ties in with the dark feminine movement that is now becoming more popular, as people realize that you feel most empowered and confident when you step into your truth and honor your boundaries and standards.
But basically I felt anxiety at the thought of sharing my content with certain people in my personal circle. For a moment I even thought of removing them from followers list but I decided to simply sit with the feeling and analyze it a bit.
And I realized it's not that deep. Whether in real life or online, anything you do can be scrutinized or judged, and you can't please the entire world no matter what you try. So what if you get judged, or someone doesn't like your post? Or leaves a disgruntled comment or shares with their friends? More engagement for your account. And if they don't like the content, they can always click unfollow.
It's literally that simple. As women I think we need to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and become more and more of our authentic selves. The world certainly needs more authentic voices, relatable content and actually seeing and hearing about genuine things that you're passionate about.
Seeing only the "highlight reel" only goes so far, and it's always when you stop caring what they think and do what you love and talk about the things you love that you shine brightest and attract your true tribe.
Some of the biggest creators and artists in my area made it the same way - by simply continuing to create what they enjoy and not caring about what people think.