beauty

“She wins who calls herself beautiful and challenges the world to change to truly see her.” - Naomi Wolf

Dear Body
Dear body, I’m sorry that I’ve spent the last twelve years hating you. I’m sorry that I would beg to be someone else. I would look in the mirror every morning in my adolescence years tearing you apart, begging for a miracle to occur where my appearance changed completely. I’m sorry that I would grab you and squish you trying to photoshop the fat away in my mind. I was surrounded by beautiful women and girls all the time. I was angry that my body wasn’t as gorgeous as theirs. At the ripe age of eleven I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I hated you even more body. I hated that you couldn’t do your job without the help of a pill. I hated that you weren’t going to survive without a pill. I hated you. I spent hours in the mirror covering every freckle and mole. Trying to erase my identity and who I was. The stretch marks that told the story of how I grew and how I was growing were ugly and I resented them. The pink stripes covering my body were a sign of hatred to me, many hours were spent trying to cover every single one up. I would hide you wearing my father's clothes that swallowed me, not wanting to be seen. I would refuse to shop because of you, begging not to go. The clothes I liked no longer fit, and the fashion industry was still stuck in their size zero mindset. I always thought that because of you I was never going to be loved. Who would want someone so fat? I thought I didn’t deserve love. I always wanted someone else to stare back at me through the mirror, but my biggest fear was what if I would hate them too.
By Ren S8 years ago in Viva
I Encourage the Big Chop!
Natural is beautiful. It took me a long while to finally accept my natural hair as beautiful. I was always trying to conform to society's standards of what beautiful was; the black girl with the straightest and longest hair. I had to overcome my low self-esteem if I wanted to dive into the natural hair world. I was always so self-conscious about whether it would be too nappy or too big. After watching numerous videos about naturally curly hair, I never realized how much I was damaging my hair until recently. I was empowered by watching the naturalistas embrace their big, beautiful hair and decided that it was time for a change and that I was ready to really "embrace" my curls!
By Genesis Ewell8 years ago in Viva
'But Boys Like Long Hair Better' and Why I Don't Care
I remember going to see the movie Tangled when it first came out. Being an avid fairy-tale and Disney lover I was so excited when my step-mother and grandmother took me to see it in theaters. Everyone knows Rapunzel by her signature never-ending blonde locks—she is seen as a beautiful princess. There was a scene in the movie though where Eugene, the "prince" of the story, takes a jagged shard of glass and chops off all of Rapunzel's beautiful hair, leaving her with a short brunette chin-length bob. It was at this point in the movie where two thoughts entered my mind.
By Patience Arianna8 years ago in Viva
Always, Always, Always Cute
I have never received a free ANYTHING from any non-family member man unless my friends got it for me. No one has ever stopped my entire friend group to talk to me, and I have never been asked to dance out anywhere at all, alone or otherwise. My face isn't memorable or show-stopping, and I learned very early on to be OK with that. But everyone in my doesn't quite get it.
By A'Briani Anokye8 years ago in Viva
For the Tomboy
I got my nails done for the first time this week. I was initially debating getting them, knowing that I'm busy, and often not gentle when it comes to handling things. But my boyfriend did not exactly give me a choice. So here I am with mildly long pink and silver acrylic nails, and I realize that now that I have nails, I should probably do my hair too. I straightened my usual afro as much as I could.
By Lana G8 years ago in Viva
To the Young Girl with Resting Bitch Face
You’re fine. You’re not doing anything wrong, and there is nothing wrong with you. I know you know this now. It just makes sense, right? You smile when something makes you smile. You smile for pictures, you smile when your dad tickles your neck, and when your cousin goes ass over tin cups on the slip and slide. Seems easy enough. So easy that you don’t even have to think about it. That is, until the first person says to you, “Smile, Sweetie. You’re so much prettier when you smile.”
By Emily Fritz8 years ago in Viva
Being Body Positive Is Hard
Loving my body has been incredibly difficult for me over the years. I’ve suffered with eating disorders. I’ve been too fat and too thin. I’ve wanted to gain weight then I’ve wanted to lose it. I’ve wanted curves In “the right places.” I even considered cosmetic surgery.
By Emily Tarff8 years ago in Viva
Masterpiece
Girls, we usually have it all figured out, right? Schedules printed and put to memory, Starbucks cups piping hot every morning, friendships solid, relationships sealed. We fight with our moms and stomp to our rooms when our dads make us go change out of our ridiculously cute outfits. It’s verbatim, it’s redundant, and it’s comfortable. We’re used to it.
By something wilde8 years ago in Viva
Body Image and What It Has You Believing...
Here it is... I can't speak for everyone but I know a lot of women and men feel like I do. I have friends and loved ones in the same position. So, I am speaking from my experiences but, of course, this may touch all of you.
By Wynter Snowe-Gem8 years ago in Viva
Why Does My Fro Make You Lose Your Mind?
"God, What happened to your hair? It looks like someone scared the Hell outta ya, or you stuck your finger in a socket. It's ...everywhere!"
By Quinci Spady8 years ago in Viva
Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder
Why are some people considered “more attractive than others”? There has been a significant amount of research done on the effect that advertising in the fashion and beauty industry has on women. By creating advertisements with unrealistic images of beauty, it has resulted in anxiety, low self-esteem, and low self-confidence in many women. Most of these negative emotions come from unhappiness among body and appearance when they do not look like the girls in the magazines. Who sets these beauty standards and how far will we go to become “beautiful” in society’s eyes?
By Lily Papenfus8 years ago in Viva
The Struggles of Having Terrible Skin
I know, I know. Having terrible skin should be the least of my worries. I mean, there are people STARVING around the world. I know, trust me. I've thought about this. I've wondered why I worry so much about shitty skin when there are people that don't even have access to basic human needs of survival. Or that there are people born into this life with a fatal illness. I've thought about all of this, and I know that in the grand-scheme of things, something so superficial really is not that bad.
By Kat S.8 years ago in Viva