Why is it that so many things women like and enjoy are often brushed off as stupid and assigned little to no value?
Think about it; there are so many activities, trends, hobbies, etc. that many women enjoy that are seen as superficial or flat-out degraded. Women are made fun of and called shallow or, God forbid, the dreaded “basic” (which is honestly just another word used by men and women alike to put down females that enjoy anything popular) if they like, say, shopping for shoes, listening to pop music or drinking Starbucks frappuccinos. Excuse me, but these are things that anyone of any gender can enjoy, and it seems like no one stops to think about the fact that if something is popular, it’s not for no reason; it’s popular because it’s enjoyable in some way to a large amount of people. So why the hate?
Personally, I could go without the actual act of trying on shoes but I do love owning them. Frappuccinos aren’t my most favorite beverage, but they’re sugary and fun and I definitely see the draw. And I most certainly get down to some Taylor Swift and One Direction while driving my car. But the point is we should be accepting each other for our likes and dislikes and never putting down activities or things that make people feel good.
This brings me to my main point in writing this: the Snapchat dog filter.
Ah yes, the infamous dog filter which uses mystical face-recognizing technology to give the user a pair of floppy ears, a cute little nose and, when you open your mouth, a (ridiculously loud) licking tongue. A lot of people make fun of this filter, deeming it the epitome of "basic" or even worse, the now popularized term “hoe filter” (which is just plain insulting to anyone).
There is even a meme about it that makes me feel queasy every time I see it floating around the internet. This is seriously so uncool and sad and immature.
But it’s okay because none of this stops Snapchat users everywhere from taking advantage of the dog filter’s magical powers, and for good reason. This is a filter that makes people, especially girls, feel good. It smooths out your skin, covers up the acne that was making you feel self-conscious today and gives you a cute puppy nose to boot! For anyone out there who's not feeling like they look their best on a given day, the dog filter is an instant pick-me-up, and that’s not something to be underestimated, ever.
As someone who is constantly at war with herself to recognize her own beauty, I can say that I freakin' love the dog filter. My favorite thing to do when I'm not feeling my best is to put this filter on my face, smile all cute, and then press the “X” that removes it from my face, showing me that, hey, I don’t actually look that different without it, aka I am cute and confident and powerful all the time, but sometimes I just need a little reminder.
So when it comes down to it, the most important thing is that this filter makes girls and women everywhere feel good about the photos they take of themselves, and that is super important in this day and age when loving yourself can be really hard while its so easy to compare our features to others via social media (not to mention when certain icky men are breathing down our necks while slut-shaming girls who just want to feel confident).
So to all the dudes out there who decided that the dog filter is the "hoe filter" just because lots of girls like to use it to take selfies that make them feel good, no one asked for your opinion, so you can keep it. Thanks!
P.S. Have fun using the filter that turns your face into an orbiting Totino's Pizza Roll.
See below for some ladies talking' back to childish and unprecedented hate:
