I posted this over at Facebook the other night, but haven’t had the time to share it here yet. It is fabulous. I have long noticed that it is those interesting bits – what a person might refer to as his or her flaws – which I find the most beauty in. A large nose, a crooked smile, too-small breasts… I grieve for Ashlee Simpson’s old nose – I found it beautiful and now I can’t pick her out of a lineup of Hollywood Look-Alikes.
Nobody should look like a paper doll copy of every other so-called beautiful woman. Like those planned communities which mirror every other planned community in the US, women are also expected to have only one definition of beautiful. I prefer older neighborhoods, ones with character and uniqueness, regardless of what that looks like on an individual level. Straight nose, or crooked nose – they are all beautiful, and their diversity makes them MORE beautiful, not less so. A mother’s smooth belly, or a wrinkly one – they have all carried life and they are beautiful, symbolically and physically. The only ugly thing here is that we are made to feel like we aren’t good enough if we don’t fit a particular mold.
I’m embracing my flaws – my freckles (which I have always loved), my dimples (which I never have), my quarterback shoulders (which I’ve only recently become aware of), my weird square chin and those funny lines it has when I smile – I love these things because they are ME. Without them, I would not recognize myself. My flaws make me beautiful in my own way. What are your flaws?
I saw this when you posted it of facebook! FANTASTIC! I also agree about the “paper doll copy” girls, I ALWAYS wanted to look like them when I was younger, I was the only ugly duckling in my eyes. I will share this video with every person I can! I understand why they are saying “my flaws” but still, they aren’t flaws. So I’d say I love the things about me that are unique.. My three 9″ scars, my mishapen skull, they show what I’ve been through and that God is all powerful and chose to defy what man thought was going to happen and keep me alive :)
What a great video. It brought me to tears because I’ve always felt that what’s different about us makes us special. I’ve never been, and never will be, a model shaped woman. I have six year old twins and my stretch marks and belly flap will probably always be there…they’re me and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’m gap-toothed :)
I have a gap between my front teeth. It isn’t huge but it is big enough to be considered “gap toothed”. I hated it all my life – until my early 20’s. Then one day, I was playing around with some props at a theater (my roomie was a student) and tried some teeth without the gap. I hated it – it wasn’t “me”. Ever since, I decided that I like my gap. It makes me different. Men never seemed to mind it and I needed to stop caring about it.
On a side note, I would kill for freckles. I get so jealous of people who have them – I think they are so beautiful!
When I was in high school, we had a magnet for the creative and performing arts so I saw a lot of the dancers’ bodies in their leotards and costumes. They were all so different. Some were thin, some were thick, some had small breasts, some had large, some were curvy, some were more angular – but they were DANCERS who practiced hours a day and were all fit, no matter their size or shape. I found so much love and respect for all the different shapes women come in by being exposed to that.
I love this video…my “flaws”, stretch marks on my belly from growing my 2 angels (1 in Heaven and 1 on Earth), my saggy boobs from pumping for my first son’s g-tube for 3 months and nursing my second son for 10 months (still nursing now), my belly overhang from my cesarean of my first child to deliver him safely and my scheduled cesarean for my second child, my 2 separate scars that show where each one of my amazing children came from…I am sure I have many more flaws!!!
That’s awesome! :D
Loved this!
i have always hated my body. my boobs were too small, then too big, i have a darker strip of hair above my lip that no one else notices, i sometimes get acne, i have a dark trail of hair beneath my belly button that i shave, my lips are too small, my arms are fat, i get a double chin when i tilt my head down, i have a unibrow that i pluck.
but. my boyfriend thinks i’m the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. and my friends tell me i have a beautiful smile and laugh. and more than one person has commented on just how blue my eyes are and how petite my hands/feet/body-in-general is.
dr. suess once said, “be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” i’ve come to believe this.
i’m not perfect by any stretch. but i’m beautiful. it’s a tragedy that it took me nineteen years to realize that.
Love Love Love This! I used to hate the freckles on my nose until I had a babysitter tell me when I was younger that having freckles means your always going to be a kid… I like to think that is true!
That was a fantastic short. FANTASTIC!!! I can think of no better medium to use to get such an important message across.
Valerie’s Dr. Suess quote also goes well with the message.
Mrs. Roosevelt shared some wisdom as well, “No one can make you feel inferior, without your permission.” So do not give permission to the few who mind: the mainstream media and advertisers; those who must conform to the plastic body paradigm; or those with a narrow view and closed mind to what is beauty. Remember there are more of us “flawz” then them and WE ARE THE BEAUTIFUL ONES!!!! ALL OF US!!!!
Just my two cents…
:”)
thank you. i needed this. :)
My husband has even said (nicely) that my stretch marks look like flames on my tummy. I couldn’t see them until I had my baby. I was huge pregnant! Like from 175 to 225, and I’m 5’9″ish. But it’s never exactly bothered me. I mean, they’re permanent right? You can rub cocoa butter on them cause it’s good for your skin and they might go away or fade. But you have to pick whether or not you want to feel good about yourself or not. And if you don’t, you usually know what would make you feel more sexy or better about your body. And I know that if I asked my husband for help, and told him I wasn’t feeling sexy, he take care of me. :) So I guess my favorite flaw is my tummy stretch marks.
perfect