2014 was the year of the selfie. Ellen DeGeneres and an impressive number of other A-list celebrities took one at the Oscars that year, causing Twitter to stop working for the day.

A number of members of older generations started to mock the selfie. “Time” magazine called the young population who takes them the “Me, Me, Me Generation,” and the cover of an issue featured a teenage girl holding her iPhone up high to take a good picture of herself.

If you scroll through any social media platform, you are sure to find at least one selfie. More often than not, it is a girl taking a picture of herself with a smart phone. These pictures are usually captioned with a song lyric or inspirational quote followed by a random sort of Emojis.

A lot of comedians and writers talk down to selfie takers, calling them selfish and self-absorbed.

I don’t see it that way.

Looking back just five years ago, selfies were different. Instead of captioning the photo with a lyric or quote, they were captioned with some sort of self-deprecating comment like “I hate the way my hair looks,” or “I wish I could lose more weight.”

But now those comments are completely different. When my friends post photos of themselves, they are captioning them, “I liked the way my makeup looked today,” or “I love my body,” or “I’m cute” or something overwhelmingly positive.

My friends went from hating the way they looked to embracing every curve, fold, wrinkle and birthmark they had. They post these photos, and they are smiling. They post these photos, and they are happy.

Why do we hate these girls for loving themselves?

As girls, we have been told from birth that we are not good enough. We have been told that we are too short, too tall, too fat, too skinny, too pale, too dark, not sexy enough and not prudish enough. We have been told to mold our bodies into a way that seems fit by the people that are staring at us.

So when we see girls posting pictures that show their self-confidence and self-acceptance, we pounce.

“How dare she love her stretch marks?” “Why does she love her plus-sized thighs?” “She actually likes the way she looks without makeup?”

When we laugh at girls who take selfies, we are uncomfortable with their self-confidence. Girls are upset because they don’t have that love for their own bodies. Guys are upset because they can’t swoop in and tell that girl that she is beautiful, because she already knows that she’s beautiful.

Selfies go beyond just self-love. Whenever my friends post selfies, I get excited. I get to see how my friends in California were wearing their makeup that day. I can see how my Canadian friends are dressing for the last bits of cold weather. I get a glimpse at my friends’ happiness when they see how a dress fits them when they are trying it on in a poorly lit dressing room.

Sometimes selfies are even worse for men. Whenever I see a guy friend post a picture that’s showing off a six-pack, I see comments like “gay” and “really?” Are guys not allowed to have confidence either?

Girls aren’t always posting selfies to show off their assets, to make men or women want them or to show off in any way. Girls are sharing selfies because they are happy with the way they look.

Don’t rain on their parade. Love thy selfie.

To contact the Ionian’s Alexandra Steinberg, e-mail her at [email protected]u