Comic by: Alenka Doodleline
Over my blogging years, I have received many emails, mainly from teenage girls asking my advice on various topics: ranging from high school, academics, blogging and self-doubt. The last one led me to write a post called "Pretty is not always beautiful". As someone who used to face it, I thought that this applied only to teenage girls as they are still trying to figure themselves and the world around them but now two years later, I see that the entire society is plagiarised by this infectious disease.
My conversation with the lady went somehow like this:
Lady: "Madam, which face cream do you use?"This made me think about the way in which these companies try to sell their products and I realised that the beauty industry more than any other, thrives on our insecurities. Protect yourself from the sun or you'll get tanned. Oh, you did. Well, here is our whitening cream. Your skin starts aging in your 20s, apply the anti-aging serum. Lose weight in 2 weeks. Make your legs seem taller in these jeans. Day cream, night cream. Under eye cream, hand cream, foot cream, cuticle oil. There is not a single part of our body, they don't have something to sell for.
Me: "Umm...XYZ. Why?"
Lady: "Uhh, XYZ is such a sham. You should try our new product, it will help brighten the dark patches under your eyes and keep the glow in your face intact that comes in your 20s.
Me: "No, thank you", walks away almost instantly never to look back.
I don't have any problem with the people buying these products. I believe, there is a personal preference and it should be respected but I think society has pressurised the female sex a lot more than their male counterparts to look in a certain way.
I'm worried about the teenage girl who believes when the lady tells her that she is ugly because she has dark circles and acne. For the young lady yet in her school who is taught that hair on her body makes her a man. For the young girl out there, who believe that she'll become more attractive if she attains the zero figure by starving themselves. For the woman who believes that she needs to be Fair and Lovely for marriage proposals. For the grandmother, who believes that her wrinkles and gray hair have made her lose her charm. For the newly mother who think that her post-baby weight has made her fat.
No. Fuck all of this.
Your skin tone doesn't define who you're. You need to embrace your child bearing hips.Your dark circles, wrinkles, and greys tells a story. It's a privilege that not everybody gets.
I'm blessed to be comfortable under my own skin but I would be lying if I tell you that there isn't a day when I don't like my body. Sometimes, I do wish for a flatter stomach or hope that my dark circles go away magically. But I have attained that point of beauty nirvana where I can brush off them quite easily. Over the years, I have realised that all of this is just skin deep and it never matters in the long run and one day someone will love you for who you're and tell you that you're the most beautiful human in the world and you'll believe it. You should.
You're beautiful. Don't let the society make you believe otherwise.
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