💋Self-Expression: My New Small Obsession. Sex'n'fries Podcast Episode 27

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What Does “Authentic” Even Look Like?

Authenticity sounds simple until you try it. It’s easy to post a quote about self-love — harder to actually speak your truth when it might make someone uncomfortable.

Being authentic doesn’t mean oversharing every emotion on Instagram stories. It’s about giving yourself permission to exist as you are — messy, contradictory, human.

Sometimes that looks like setting boundaries. Sometimes it looks like dancing like an idiot in your kitchen. And sometimes, it looks like saying, “Yeah, I’m not okay today,” without apologizing for it.

Are We Expressing Ourselves… or Performing It?

Here’s the kicker: even self-expression can become performative. We curate our “authenticity.” We filter our vulnerability.

We tell ourselves we’re being real, but we’re still checking to see how it looks from the outside. And that’s okay — awareness is part of the work.

The goal isn’t perfection; it’s permission. To be real. To mess up. To laugh at the fact that being human is weird and beautiful and sometimes full of heavy crap we can either cry over or giggle through.

Self-Expression as a Healing Practice

Expressing yourself — through words, art, clothes, music, dance, or the way you make your morning coffee — isn’t superficial. It’s survival.

When we let ourselves be seen, we remind the world (and ourselves) that we exist beyond the roles we play.

That’s not ego — that’s embodiment.

So go ahead: wear the bold lipstick, post the weird poem, sing too loud in the car. Let people see the parts of you that aren’t polished. Those are the pieces that connect us.

Final Fry Thought 🍟

Self-expression doesn’t have to be pretty.

It just has to be honest.

Let’s stop chasing “authenticity” as a brand and start living it as a practice — with laughter, grace, and maybe a little glitter.

Because sometimes the heaviest stuff in life?

It’s the best material for a good laugh, a good cry, and a damn good story.