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Self-love was first promoted by the Beat Generation of the 1950s and in the early years of the Hippie era of the 1960s.

After witnessing the devastating consequences of World War II and having troops still fighting in the Vietnam War, western societies began promoting “peace and love” to help generate positive energy.

These deteriorating living conditions caused worldwide protests that primarily focused on ending the war, but secondarily promoted a positive environment aided by the fundamental concept of crowd psychology. This post-war community was left very vulnerable to persuasion but began encouraging freedom, harmony, and the possibility of a brighter, non-violent future. These protests took place on almost all continents and included countries such as the United States (primarily New York City and California), England, and Australia. Their dedication, perseverance, and empathy towards human life defined this generation as being peace advocates and carefree souls.

The emergence of the feminist movement began as early as the 19th century but only began having major influence during the second wave movement, which included women’s rights protests that inevitably led to women gaining the right to vote. These protests not only promote equality but also suggested that women should recognize their self-worth through the knowledge and acceptance of self-love. Elizabeth Cady Stanton used the Declaration of Independence as a guideline to demonstrate that women have been harshly treated throughout the centuries in her feminist essay titled “Declaration of Sentiments“.

In the essay she claims that “all men and women are created equal; … that among these [rights] are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; and that without these rights, the capacity to feel self-worth and self-love is scarce. This historical essay suggests that a lack of self-esteem and fear of self-love affects modern women due to lingering post-industrial gender conditions. Self-love has also been used as a tool in communities of Color in the United States. In the 1970s Black Power movement, the slogan “Black is beautiful!” became a way for African-Americans to throw off the mantle of predominately White beauty norms. The dominant cultural aesthetic pre-1970s was to straighten Black hair with a perm or hot comb.

During the Black Power movement, the “afro” or “fro” became the popular hairstyle. It involved letting Black Hair grow naturally, without chemical treatment, so as to embrace and flaunt the extremely curly hair texture of Black people. Hair was teased out the hair using a pick. The goal was to cause the hair to form a halo around the head, flaunting the Blackness of its wearer. This form of self-love and empowerment during the 70s was a way for African-Americans to combat the stigma against their natural hair texture, which was, and still is, largely seen as unprofessional in the modern workplace.

The emergence of social media has created a platform for self-love promotion and mental health awareness in order to end the stigma surrounding mental health and to address self-love positively rather than negatively.

 

Photo by De’Andre Bush on Unsplash