beauty

“She wins who calls herself beautiful and challenges the world to change to truly see her.” - Naomi Wolf

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.
By Nifton8 years ago in Viva
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.
By Shannon Butler8 years ago in Viva
High-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.
By Meg S8 years ago in Viva
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....
By Elizabeth Johnston8 years ago in Viva
What 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.
By Katy Christensen8 years ago in Viva
3 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.
By Melissa Rose8 years ago in Viva
A 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.
By Kimm Smith8 years ago in Viva
Growing 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.
By Meikan Dahl8 years ago in Viva
When 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.
By Adriana Jurado8 years ago in Viva
6 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?”
By Carissa Joy Johnson8 years ago in Viva
Cookie 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.
By Jasmine H8 years ago in Viva
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.
By Emily Grace Gill8 years ago in Viva