Melanin Drops: A POC Book

🗣 Perceptions of Appearance

What I'm about to talk about is something that came to my mind a couple of days ago. So I recently learned something about our brains and I made sure I checked multiple sources and treated this almost as serious as a school project). By the way, this one is part fact and part my opinion supported by the facts I present.

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We all have a self-image, a conceptualization we form in our minds about the person we are. That basically means we have a picture, a mental picture of ourselves that usually stays the same unless we put forth the effort to change it. We form this self-image through interaction with people around us by paying attention to their reactions to us and how they categorize us. The image we have for ourselves can become changed or unhealthy for a variety of reasons. Our parents, or other authority figures, people who have influence over us and ESPECIALLY our peers' judgments definitely affect us.

If the judgments affect us too often or too intensely in a negative way, we will most likely feel negative about ourselves. The effect of all of this means we don't get an accurate reflection of ourselves. We just can help but put ourselves against the expectations and looks of others. All of this is definitely because society gives us rules and expectations for the "standards" in which EVERYONE should follow. If we don't follow them then we are seen as undesirable and unattractive which has an effect on our psychological well-being.

In a previous Dove ad, an FBI forensic artist sketched multiple women based only on how they and others described each woman. Across the board, the described portraits were the not as attractive as the actual person. According to the Dove marketing team, we (typically) are more beautiful than we think we are. With a combination of cultural ideals, life experiences, and comments that others give us this develops our self-image. All of our experiences with teasing and worrying whether you are good/attractive enough are part of it as well.

A combination of emotions, meaning, and experiences that builds up is packed into a "self-schema". That schema can be positive or negative and to have too much of either is definitely unhealthy psychologically wise as well as socially.

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So what I want to say about this is everyone has a perspective. NO ONE completely feels the same about everything. Just like we have our own types of music and art we like, we have our own ideas of what beauty is. What we can do is try to marginalize what type of beauty you like for everyone and don't try to fit into that marginalized standard. Just like how what I think is attractive is different than what some else think is attractive.

If we all think differently then HOW IN THE WORLD can we have a standard of beauty? It is not possible at all and trying to force it just harms people not strong minded enough to think on their own yet (AKA young kids influenced by everyone around them). A good quote I found is, "I don't like standard beauty. There is no beauty without strangeness." Karl Lagerfeld. I definitely agree with this standard beauty is pretty much basic and basic is nothing but basic (DUH).

We can't keep up with the changes in beauty standards and especially for women. One minute skinny, then thick; straight hair, then curly; tall then short; breasts then butt and etc.. It can be so so hard to keep up, it is basically impossible as matter of fact. The only advice I have is to be yourself, NOT hoping one day society thinks your beauty is the standard but KNOWING your beauty is definitely special.

Simply I would say that beauty is LITERALLY an illusion. I honestly have no idea who sets the standard but it has NEVER been set in my favor though now I honestly don't care. The best thing I can say will sound cliche but just LOVE yourself, be confident, and don't stress about what the standard is because who cares. One of my favorite quotes is, "I don't like standard beauty. There is no beauty without strangeness." Karl Lagerfeld

That is it, beauty is an illusion, a perception, in our brain. Different is beauty, people are threatened by it because it is so beautiful. I mean that is it.

And I will end with a question ..

Just tell me how you guys feel about this overall.

love,

black girl ki.

🌀SELF PROMO🌀

Snapchat: guapcesski
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Bibliography:

1. Atasoy, Ozgun. "You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think." Scientific American,
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, 21 May 2013, www.scientificamerican.com/article/
you-are-less-beautiful-than-you-think/. Accessed 1 July 2017.

2. Collingwood, Jane. "Learning About Self-Image And How We View Ourselves."
PsychCentral, Psych Central, psychcentral.com/lib/learning-about-self-image-and-how-we-view-ourselves/. Accessed 1 July 2017.

3. Seeker. Groupnine, 24 Apr. 2013, www.seeker.com/wrong-reality-why-our-self-perception-is-so-off-1767455982.html. Accessed 1 July 2017.

4. Simon, George. "Self-Image: How We See Ourselves and Why It Matters."
Counselling Resources, CounsellingResource.com, 28 July 2014,
     counsellingresource.com/features/2014/07/28/self-image/. Accessed 1 July
     2017.