You do not have to be tall to be
beautiful.
You do not have to be thin or long-limbed.
You do not have to have long, straight, shiny hair.
You do not have to be an hourglass or a string bean or a pear.
You do not have to be blemish-free, without freckles, scars, or tattoos.
You do not have to fit or demolish certain physical paradigms.
You do not have to be buxom to be
beautiful.
You do not have to possess va-va-voom curves or full lips.
You do not have to resemble a movie star, or a lingerie model, or a porn star.
You do not have to sexualize your exterior to be beautiful.
You do not have to neuter your exterior to be beautiful.
You do not have to wear makeup to be
beautiful.
You do not have to wear skirts and heels.
You do not have to cover your grays or disguise your cellulite.
You do not have to shun or accept practices of dressing or personal
presentation.
Those who quantify beauty as genetic makeup,
symmetry, mathematical ratios are, to me, as wrong as those who accept beauty
as a set of societally-imposed ideals and standards. To rank beauty, classify
it, assign it biological markers and geometric requirements is to say to some
people, “No, you cannot have this. It is not for you.” And although many will
disagree with me, I believe that beauty is a feeling, a freedom, a pulse from
within that says, “I am worthy, lovely, strong.” And I believe every single
human being has a right to feel it.
Beauty is not definite, it is relative.
Beauty is not exclusive, it is infinite.
Beauty is not for others, it is for you.
And to be beautiful, all you have
to be is you, you, you.
Sally McGraw