This morning I was getting ready for work, feeling rather ugly with raccoon eyes and messy hair, thinking I need more and more make up just to look presentable. What is that about? The whole concept of being beautiful sometimes amazes me, it’s such a construct. Growing up, I was kind of chubby, awkward and extraordinarily self -conscious, no one really thought I was pretty. It’s a self-image that stuck in my brain, wanting to look like a beautiful woman and somehow being beyond my grasp.

As I’ve gotten older, and more comfortable with my appearance, I’ve come to realize self acceptance is struggle not so unique to me. The concept of ideal beauty, is but a mere construct, not just in the mind, but in reality. My friend Rocky, sent me this video today… which reminds me of a great Cindy Crawford quote:

Even I don’t get out of bed looking like Cindy Crawford.

1. I could never be bothered with the whole makeup thing…
   So I just rather let it be, hopefully with age I’ve noticed I’ve become less hard on myself for my body.

   Posted by Candid Cool | October 11, 2007, 12:19 pm

2. thanks for posting this. Its from models and magazines that I’ve developed a REALLY bad self image. This video gives me chills.

   Posted by Jessica Joan | October 11, 2007, 12:59 pm

3. This video clip is pretty freaky. It’s a wonder that the fashion/beauty industry even uses real people as models anymore - if they aren’t satisfied with real life beauty, they should just create advertising from scratch with computers. Distorting a woman’s face to the point where she looks like a different person is an insult to her very humanity - why include her in the process at all! I’m so glad I’ve come to accept myself and my appearance. No Jennine, you were not alone in being pudgy and unattractive as a child - I think we were all made to feel that way, even though none of us were. We were kids! We shouldn’t have cared about how we looked, just how we felt. Sad stuff….

   Posted by Aidan | October 11, 2007, 3:39 pm

4. oh man… it’s so strange how they just generate beauties like this, instead of trying to see what already exists… i know, i was creeped out by the video too… bleh…

   Posted by jennine | October 11, 2007, 4:36 pm

5. Great post

   Posted by ChicandUntroubled | October 11, 2007, 7:19 pm

6. Hi Jenine, there has been a follow-up commercial to “Evolution”. Check it!

   http://youtube.com/watch?v=JaH4y6ZjSfE

   Posted by Iconoclastic | October 11, 2007, 7:51 pm

7. I was an egg growing up.

   Posted by Mothra | October 11, 2007, 9:16 pm

8. Bloody hell! That’s outrageous! I always felt exceptionally ugly as a kid because I was so painfully thin and got teased because of it. And it’s taking til my 30’s to finally accept what I’ve been given in terms of looks and just work with them. I’m not and never will be beautiful, and them’s the breaks as they say, so in place of good looks I have tried to develop skills in other areas to compensate and I have to say, learning things has given me more fulfillment than beauty probably would have.

   Posted by Queen Michelle | October 12, 2007, 3:40 am

9. That was mind blowing - EVERYONE should see that!

   Sort of makes me feel sick.

   Posted by JO | October 12, 2007, 9:04 am