If I sat you down and asked you to define “beauty”… what would you say? Would you attach it to a gender? Would you attach it to the symmetry of a face or eye color? Is it personality? Is it physical? What is it?
In the world we live in, beauty has been vigorously defined by social media. Social media has taken the lead on what “beauty” is. How many of you have put on a filter that turns you into a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON!? What type of message is this sending to young girls? What type of message is that sending young boys and girls and all in between. How are we able to define beauty in a way that embodies more than that “catfish” filter on Instagram. How do we define beauty to include ALL genders and ALL colors?
We step away from the physical. We acknowledge who you look like and we love you for that. We love what you look like. HOWEVER, your physical self is not a limit to your beauty.
All of my beautiful models this year (shes/hers) that decided to part take in this shoot, I commend and thank you. They showed up in their natural faces. You heard me correctly, they showed up with NO MAKEUP. They chose a word that they use to define beauty and wrote it on their bodies.
They represent what beauty is and should be because they are beautiful.
If you ever feel that you are not enough. If you ever feel lonely or sad due to the pressures of social media, please reach out to me or any of these amazing young women. You are NOT alone, ever. You should never feel isolated or pushed aside by anyone through a screen.