beauty
“She wins who calls herself beautiful and challenges the world to change to truly see her.” - Naomi Wolf
What Is Beautiful
Being a young lady in today's generation, I have struggled with this subject for some time. It is not until recently that I have started challenging it. The past few years have been nothing but following the styles and trends, trying to "keep up with the Joneses." These trends I have now found are not quite "me," yet I was so fooled into thinking they were....
Elizabeth JohnstonPublished 6 years ago in VivaWhat is Beauty?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; beauty is on the inside, not the outside. Young children grow up hearing these phrases of encouragement throughout their lives. As one grows and matures into adulthood their idea and envisionment of beauty changes. The painting of the ugly duchess is an "ugly" painting by the shallowest definition of beauty. However, some correctly believe, that influences from one's culture and background have to do with the way that one perceives beauty.
Katy ChristensenPublished 6 years ago in Viva3 Simple Ways to Stop Hating Yourself
Having struggled with depression for the majority of my life, hating myself is kind of engrained in my psyche. It feels like I've been doing it forever. I can remember all the parts of myself that I've hated at different points of my life: my eyebrows in grade 5 and 6, my boobs in grade 7, my general size in grade 8-9.
Melissa RosePublished 6 years ago in VivaA Nappy Headed Girl in a Lace-Front World
Me, black and nappy, and it's all I ever wanted to be was happy to be my natural self. Oh believe me I've been through all the relaxers, and every kind of chemical that would make me resemble that black Barbie, I forgot her name,...oh yeah, Tiffany Taylor. Yes, not that she was really The black Barbie, I think the real black Barbie actually came later....and didn't last. She got no Ken and no Malibu doll house, 'til now.
Kimm SmithPublished 7 years ago in VivaGrowing Up with Freckles
My story starts off when I was around 8 years old. I didn't have a single freckle and was as fresh faced as a baby. My grandmother was the only person in my family to have a large quantity of freckles covering her whole body and I often asked her what they were. She told me, "they're sunspots, sweetheart. If you don't cover up when in the sun, you'll get them too. Make sure to wear sunscreen." As a little rebel and being forgetful, I hardly ever wore sunscreen and ran outside all summer doing various activities and getting sunburnt and living life.
Meikan DahlPublished 7 years ago in VivaWhen Is Makeup Sexist?
I woke up this morning feeling today would be a makeup-free day. Days like these are not unusual for me, since I usually see makeup as an unnecessary task or a painfully boring chore with mediocre results. I am friends with people who do makeup professionally, they don’t share the same view of cosmetics as I do. This always felt natural to me; some people like makeup, some people do not. On one side of the spectrum, I recall remarks on how tired I must be, or how confident I must be, simply because I don’t wear makeup. On the other end, my friends who enjoy makeup can always recount a time when someone told them, “you don’t need to try so hard.” The distinction society makes between a “naked” face and a “done-up” face is, arguably, one of the most visible signs of sexism in our culture.
Adriana JuradoPublished 7 years ago in Viva6 Reasons Why Cutting Off All My Hair Made Me Happier
Almost four years ago, I marched into my local hair salon armed with a sense of reckless confidence. I sat down and resolutely asked the stylist to cut off all my hair – clicking through a slideshow of sample pictures I’d saved from the Internet – to which she replied, “How long have you thought about this?”
Carissa Joy JohnsonPublished 7 years ago in VivaCookie Cutters
Since I was young, I’ve always struggled with my self image. I hid behind various aliases depending on who I was with and what group I wanted to fit in with. My choices and my actions were heavily influenced by my need to be accepted.
Bald
I cut my hair off in July. Gone, gone, gone; officially bald. Since then, a few things have changed. Most have stayed the same. The following are the most notable examples.
Emily Grace GillPublished 7 years ago in VivaBeauty
This one is for the people who struggle with how they view themselves on the outside. I'm no Channing Tatum. In fact I have a hard time with regulating my weight, I'm starting to need glasses and you may not be able to tell it but I'm also losing my hair, like a lot of people. I almost said "the average person" but the word average has become a negative word in our society. No one wants to be average because it's less than perfect (remember this word, because I'm going to use it later on).
Andrew SmithPublished 7 years ago in VivaHow Instagram Improved My Confidence
In April 2017, I finished my third year of university and returned to my hometown in search of a summer job. Not only did I find three jobs, I also found my new hobby: Instagram.Now, some might think it's foolish to take pictures of yourself for the internet. Others might consider it vain to constantly put your face out into the world. I think that deciding to post on Instagram more often made me a more confident person.
Kendra Felicity WheelerPublished 7 years ago in VivaFeeling Unpretty
At 25-years old, I didn't think that this would be how I would live my life. A mom of 3, married, and still unhappy. How do you describe unhappiness when you have everything you had wished for, without sounding ungrateful? Without sounding like you're complaining?
Mishka UpchurchPublished 7 years ago in Viva