What Existent Beauty Way To Me

 

Thank you lot Dove for sponsoring this post. How create you lot define #RealBeauty?

Growing upwards inwards India, my interpretation of beauty was what had been fed to me over the years. An ideal Indian daughter was - thin, fair, amongst abrupt features (whatever that means), has thick-long-black hair, together with polite (someone who never questions or retorts back). No other version of woman somebody existence would do. She has to encounter all the characteristics or else has to listen back-handed-comments like, "She is brilliant together with expert inwards studies, merely ...", "She is quite smart merely ..." 

I was (and withal am!) that somebody who ever received a "but" attached amongst a compliment. Thankfully my parents never allow me experience whatever less together with I was able to live teenage years without my self confidence shattered. However, somewhere at the dorsum of my mind, I had accepted that I was non beautiful. I had many strengths together with qualities merely beingness 'beautiful' was non a privilege I acquired inwards my gene-pool. I was non that daughter who was (is) 'desirable' yesteryear Indian standards. I didn't assist plenty to fifty-fifty consider changing myself, merely I definitely never used the describing word beautiful to clitoris myself.

hair: non dark together with thick enough

It was non until I went to college together with had friends from roughly the the world who complimented me on my hair, together with peel note that I realized that their version of beauty was non same every bit India. Suddenly my thin-brown-hair were beautiful, my wheatish-complexion was beautiful, the chutzpah inwards my personality was beautiful. While their compliments definitely made my twenty-four hr menstruation dorsum then, merely inwards long term they also broadened my heed enough, to bring myself. 

not fair enough

It took me a decade to piece of employment here, merely it started amongst some women edifice women up. I get got learned 2 lessons from my experiences from college till today, one: that women get got the ability to alter some other woman's perspective through sort words together with compliments, two: that beauty standards are transient. The exact characteristics which brand me less than ideal inwards India, are the exact characteristics which are celebrated inwards the West. 

not docile enough

Every adult woman tin define her ain beauty. We create non get got to accommodate to whatever society's standards to consider ourselves beautiful. There cannot live a unmarried mold for all women to be amongst in. It is no surprise that 69% of women concur that they don’t consider themselves reflected inwards advertisements, movies, television.

This is why Kylee Howell's story, from Dove Beauty Productions resonated amongst me. Its powerful message of non-conformity, self-assurance together with shedding the narrow definitions of beauty spoke correct to me. Directed yesteryear no other than Shonda Rhimes amongst an all-female crew, Dove is shifting the ability of storytelling from Hollywood into the hands of existent women via Kylee’s story. Check out the video here together with consider how she empowers others to discovery their existent beauty.

PIN THIS

I was selected for this chance every bit a fellow member of CLEVER together with the content together with opinions expressed hither are all my own.

Share this post