Take a diss and turn it into discourse

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"Take a diss and turn it into discourse that will encourage us all to see beyond desirability"


The above quote is one of my favourites, and comes from one of my all time icons and absolute queen, The Slumflower - aka, Chidera Eggerue. Founder of the #SAGGYBOOBSMATTER movement and writer of bestselling book What A Time To Be Alone, this absolute girl boss has honestly changed my life so much, and has had such a huge impact on so many other women too. She teaches us to love ourselves, to know our worth and to be more than just a desirable object. She might be young, but she is wise beyond her years and is honestly going to change the world - I just know it. 





Taking a diss and turning it into discourse is something that I have unknowingly lived by for the last four years - that is, since I've been blogging and creating content on the internet. As someone who has been bullied a lot, on more than one occasion I have used this nastiness to create content online and open up a discussion to try and bring about change. Some of the topics for which I have done this include domestic violence, eating disorders, body positivity, self love and boobs. 

Body positivity and self love are two topics I'm really passionate about, and if people try and tear me down, aka diss me, I turn it into a very open and public conversation online, aka discourse. When people call me fat, I create content about it. When people troll me online about my looks and body, I create content about it. When people make fun of my boobs, I make content about it. Turning a diss into discourse not only works, but has helped me to establish my passions, what I'm good at and helped me to build a career from it too. 



"I have used this nastiness to create content online and open up a discussion to try and bring about change"



It's funny that my looks are the first thing people go to when they want to insult me - they are so quick to tell me I'm fat or ugly, that my boobs are saggy or that I just generally look gross. And whilst it can be upsetting at the time, when I turn that hurt into words and share it on my Instagram, or on here, it turns out to be some of my most popular and successful content that opens up conversation with dozens of women. Women who have been through what I've been through, or maybe still are. Women who want to learn how to ignore the trolls, learn to love themselves and accept their bodies. The pain I go through, the hurt I deal with, I turn into love and compassion and use it to fuel me to help others. I think that's really something, even if I do say so myself. 

I think more of us need to take these words from Chidera on board and turn disses into discourse. Opening up conversations about otherwise taboo subjects - like boobs - really does help to implement positive change and is something that we should all try to play a part in. I for one, will definitely continue to turn my disses into discourse to help to educate and encourage women - and men! - everywhere, of all ages, to embrace the skin they're in and learn to love themselves. 

Love from,
Florence Grace

Comments

  1. elizabeth4 September 2018 at 11:21

    Aw I loved this so much! I love the idea of opening up a mean comment and using it to build something positive, it's something I would never have thought of before as I am used to just trying to bury mean comments and get them out of my mind. Really exploring them and turning them around sounds such an awesome and positive thing to do :D love your blog! xx

    elizabeth ♡ ”Ice Cream” whispers Clara
    (I would love to follow each other on bloglovin if you like :D)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Florence Grace6 September 2018 at 02:11

      Thank you so much for such a lovely comment! I hope you enjoy the process of learning to turn negatives into positives - it really is life changing! x

      Delete

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