beauty
“She wins who calls herself beautiful and challenges the world to change to truly see her.” - Naomi Wolf
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.
A'Briani AnokyePublished 6 years ago in VivaFor 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.
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.”
Emily FritzPublished 6 years ago in VivaBeing 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.
Emily TarffPublished 6 years ago in VivaMasterpiece
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.
something wildePublished 6 years ago in VivaBody 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.
Wynter Snowe-GemPublished 6 years ago in VivaWhy 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!"
Quinci SpadyPublished 6 years ago in VivaBeauty 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?
Lily PapenfusPublished 6 years ago in VivaThe 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.
Attractiveness
A simple, yet powerful observation... As a current young adult attending university, my self-esteem is a finicky thing that's being reconstructed and re-established as I learn more and more about who I am. My confidence has changed quite a bit regarding certain subjects in life, as it's expected to do.
Beauty Pageants: Inspiring or Degrading?
Imagine a six-year-old girl. Perhaps she’s your daughter, or your niece, or even just a stranger. She sits in a chair for hours, getting layers and layers of makeup put on, completely changing how she looks, and even gets a spray tan, changing the color of her skin. She wears fake eyelashes and bleaches her teeth. This little girl is completely changed to look like a mini-adult, for people to judge whether or not she fits a mold they themselves created of how a child should look, looking nothing like herself.
Shannon ButlerPublished 6 years ago in VivaHigh-School Runaway
Ninth grade had come and gone and I could truly say I was done. I had given up. Nothing seemed to have gone my way for the past two years or so. We often hear stories about teenagers struggling in their high school years but my life had turned into a literal nightmare. I struggled my way through grades eight and nine but when summer finally came around everything seemed to be too much.