A Beautiful Revolution?
A Beautiful Revolution?
Blonde wigs tossed high in he air, “flaws” honored with smiles and laughter, bodies of all shapes and sizes. Since the inception of Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty, women are finally challenging the public idea of beauty. Rather than using a cookie cutter image of female branding – Dove is marketing real women. Perfect in their imperfections. A fact of life-that media and outside stereotypes have disguised for far too long. Now, Dove is challenges those ideals and recognizes natural women. Perhaps this is the start of a beautiful – revolution.
Personally, this movement is very close to my heart. When I worked as a life coach, most of my time focused on helping women claim their confidence and power. Women who wanted to be ok with their J-Lo butt, or love handle tummy. But felt denied of that right, because TV, magazines, billboards…said otherwise. What happens to confidence when images claimed as “normal” don’t look anything like you?
That’s been the challenge. For individuals to find beautiful in what they are, not what they aren’t. Sadly, many women are afraid of their bodies because of false representation. I always wondered what life would be like without mirrors to judge. Would we recognize our differences? Or would we honor them?
Last year at the Women Wrapped in Chocolate Fundraiser, Rhonda Draper, a powerful speaker, shared her personal story. Moments before her presentation, my friend and I were complaining about how we looked (the typical – don’t like my arms, don’t like my hips in this dress etc etc). As she spoke – the audience listened. Rhonda survived a horrific car crash, but had to have her face completely reconstructed. She told us about the surgeries, and the pain and the fear of feeling ugly. Her true battle was not in recovering from the ordeal, but in rather finding a true place of beauty inside. I am not sure one person blinked in the forty minutes it took her to describe her victory. We all felt her words. And suddenly, I felt so fortunate to have my body (hips and all) that I was mortified by the dishonor to myself only minutes before.
If what you have right now, was taken away from you, would losing an extra 10 pounds, or having smaller thighs really matter? We’ve all heard it before, I challenge you to believe it – beautiful is a state of being. An acceptance. Find power in your imperfections and feel confident with what you have to offer. And may be, we can help transform the idea of beauty and really create a beautiful revolution.
© Desiree Daniel December 1, 2005
Blonde wigs tossed high in he air, “flaws” honored with smiles and laughter, bodies of all shapes and sizes. Since the inception of Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty, women are finally challenging the public idea of beauty. Rather than using a cookie cutter image of female branding – Dove is marketing real women. Perfect in their imperfections. A fact of life-that media and outside stereotypes have disguised for far too long. Now, Dove is challenges those ideals and recognizes natural women. Perhaps this is the start of a beautiful – revolution.
Personally, this movement is very close to my heart. When I worked as a life coach, most of my time focused on helping women claim their confidence and power. Women who wanted to be ok with their J-Lo butt, or love handle tummy. But felt denied of that right, because TV, magazines, billboards…said otherwise. What happens to confidence when images claimed as “normal” don’t look anything like you?
That’s been the challenge. For individuals to find beautiful in what they are, not what they aren’t. Sadly, many women are afraid of their bodies because of false representation. I always wondered what life would be like without mirrors to judge. Would we recognize our differences? Or would we honor them?
Last year at the Women Wrapped in Chocolate Fundraiser, Rhonda Draper, a powerful speaker, shared her personal story. Moments before her presentation, my friend and I were complaining about how we looked (the typical – don’t like my arms, don’t like my hips in this dress etc etc). As she spoke – the audience listened. Rhonda survived a horrific car crash, but had to have her face completely reconstructed. She told us about the surgeries, and the pain and the fear of feeling ugly. Her true battle was not in recovering from the ordeal, but in rather finding a true place of beauty inside. I am not sure one person blinked in the forty minutes it took her to describe her victory. We all felt her words. And suddenly, I felt so fortunate to have my body (hips and all) that I was mortified by the dishonor to myself only minutes before.
If what you have right now, was taken away from you, would losing an extra 10 pounds, or having smaller thighs really matter? We’ve all heard it before, I challenge you to believe it – beautiful is a state of being. An acceptance. Find power in your imperfections and feel confident with what you have to offer. And may be, we can help transform the idea of beauty and really create a beautiful revolution.
© Desiree Daniel December 1, 2005
posted by Desiree Daniel @ 8:20 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home