BEAUTY- Do You See it in The Mirror?

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder but when you look into the mirror, what does it behold for you?  Dove conducted a beauty experiment where women were to describe themselves to a police sketch artist.  The sketch artist was to draw each woman according to their self-description.  The catch was the artist could not see them as they described themselves.  Then the experiment continued when a stranger came in and was instructed to describe to the sketch artist what the woman looked like so that the artist could draw the stranger’s version of the woman.   Once the drawings were complete, the sketch artist showed the side by side sketches of each woman and to their astonishment, every woman’s self-description was a less attractive version of herself and every stranger’s description of each woman was almost 100% accurate as to what the woman they each described looked like.  In fact, the stranger’s description highlighted the attractive and realistic features of the woman they described and the women’s descriptions of themselves were exaggerated and often imaginary.  If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, why was it that these women couldn’t see the beauty that a perfect stranger passing through could?

Dove further concluded that 1 out of every 5 young girls will consider plastic surgery because they are unhappy with the way they look.  According to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), “in 2012 over 10 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed, 90% (9.1 million) of those procedures were performed on women.”  Furthermore, 19% of those surgeries were performed on women ages 19-34 and 1.3% (3,576) of them were performed on girls 18 and under.

Women have always been very critical and overly aware of their appearance but with the pressures of today’s media and celebrity glam, young girls are feeling even more pressured to be perfect beauty queens.  From obsessive use of makeup, hair extensions, and plastic surgery, girls are trying their hardest to conceal any signs of imperfections in pursuit of their idea of beauty.  It has been discovered that the excessive concern about a perceived physical defect is a somatoform disorder called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).  BDD starts to develop in adolescence and early adulthood and is more common in girls. It can be stemmed from mental and physical abuse or emotional distress.  Self-criticism of personal appearance often is the leading trigger for the sufferer to want to “fix” what they perceive to be wrong.  Often times what they perceive as wrong; just as in the Dove beauty experiment, is contrary to what is really there.  In extreme cases, BDD can cause suicidal tendencies.  In fact, the suicide rate in patients with BDD has said to be 45 times higher than in the general population.  This rate is more than double that of those with clinical depression and three times as high as those with bipolar disorder.

Being a woman in today’s society is tough but we must understand that we are all unique and that is the most beautiful thing of all.  At the end of the day, these celebrity women go home and take off their makeup, take off their push up bras, and remove their spanks just like everyone else.  We all have flaws and no one is perfect.  But if we embrace those imperfections and flaws and accept them as true, then they no longer have power over us.  In fact, they become less of a big deal.  So ladies, I challenge you!  Every morning before you put on your “war paint”, stand completely naked in the mirror and say to yourself, “My body is perfect as it is.  I love my face and I am beautiful.”  Don’t worry about whether or not you really believe it, just SAY IT!  And overtime you will start to see a change in how you see yourself.

And if you or anyone you know is suffering from BDD, please get help!

Until next time, Stay true, Stay blessed, and Stay Beautiful

Tiera Gray

Tiera has launched her Love Sex & Baggage movement in hopes to bridge the gap between men and women and help destroy the myths that each sex has in regards to each other. This movement is meant to inspire, intrigue, and provoke all your senses and evoke change in your love life. She has also launched her highly anticipated new web series, “The Amazing Woman’s Guide to Loving Her Single Life” on the Love Sex & Baggage You Tube channel which takes a modern day look at single women today trying to navigate their way through dating.

Her next book, “The Girl in the Uhaul” is scheduled to release August 2016!

To see or hear more of what Tiera Nicole has going on, check her out:
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