What is beauty? What do we perceive as being beautiful? What should we perceive as beautiful?
I love that Dove made a series of commercials a few years ago to focus on womens self esteem and how our perception of beauty is distorted. Look at this video if you don't know what I am talking about (it gives me chills!!):
Well, I would have loved to see this video already about 10 years ago, when I first started thinking about who I was becoming as a woman and making myself look "more beautiful" when I had to go outside. But being 15 at that time, it would probably already have been too late to influence me, 'cause society would already have completed my view on beauty and my demands for myself and my looks... :-/
The habit of putting on make up every day stuck to me until recently (after meeting my husband and reverting to Islam), where I would never walk outside without make up on (i.e. mascara, eyeliner, (eye-shadow), concealer)! I thought I looked ugly without - and I'm still getting used to not wearing (much) make up outside and getting to know the stranger in the mirror better.
My husband has helped me a great deal, by really letting me know that he appreciates me just the same with and without make up. He says I just look different, but always beautiful (in his eyes). That (among other things) has made me feel more secure and also the fact that I have been working on my self esteem, which has never been sky high. I'm still working on not letting beautiful women and commercials make me feel inadequate and insha'Allah I will learn soon that Allah (swt) loves me and that He loves the unique way that I look and that the purpose of being in this world is not to compete about outer beauty (- or compete at all...).
The habit of putting on make up every day stuck to me until recently (after meeting my husband and reverting to Islam), where I would never walk outside without make up on (i.e. mascara, eyeliner, (eye-shadow), concealer)! I thought I looked ugly without - and I'm still getting used to not wearing (much) make up outside and getting to know the stranger in the mirror better.
My husband has helped me a great deal, by really letting me know that he appreciates me just the same with and without make up. He says I just look different, but always beautiful (in his eyes). That (among other things) has made me feel more secure and also the fact that I have been working on my self esteem, which has never been sky high. I'm still working on not letting beautiful women and commercials make me feel inadequate and insha'Allah I will learn soon that Allah (swt) loves me and that He loves the unique way that I look and that the purpose of being in this world is not to compete about outer beauty (- or compete at all...).
Sometimes I wish I lived in another country, where the majority were Muslims and people were dressing modestly, 'cause it gets too much for me in the West, where people reveal so much of their bodies no matter where you go and there is this on-going competition about who's hottest, smallest, thinnest, tallest......
Insha'Allah my self esteem will always get better (- and yours too, if you also feel you haven't arrived just yet -) and I/we will learn, even more, to put my/our values in the right places.
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