Monday Marilyn, Glamour and Boudoir Photographer Bay Area
When I was a little girl no one ever told me I was pretty, all little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they are not.
Marilyn Monroe as a child from www.thegloss.com
In my glamour and boudoir photography studio, I see every day the scars women bear by not being told they were beautiful or pretty or acceptable by the people who loved them most. They come to see me with their hang-ups, their suitcases full of a spectrum of different clothes, shoes, accessories and lingerie. I demand they leave behind all their beliefs that they are not pretty, beautiful, capable and deserving…I love them all, before they even step into the studio. When they slip on their garments and reflect their personality through them, I see a transformation..Transformation from the OUTSIDE in.
When you were young, were you told you were pretty? Beautiful? Where you complimented when you smiled? When you wore something *you* thought was pretty? Were you pressured to conform to the image your parents/family/friends thought was pretty/beautiful/acceptable? How did you fight against it? Or were you able to?
Confession: I wasn’t told. I went most of my life not knowing I was or could be beautiful, pretty, capable, talented….The first woman who told me those things was ripped violently from my life when I was seven years old. I struggled through after that, thirsty for someone to love me unconditionally…it was only in the past few years that I decided to chuck that shit out of my life. Has it worked? Most days. Others I am still paralyzed by the feeling of not being good enough, smart enough, talented enough, etc.
I encourage you (and me!), this week, to look in the mirror and look, really look, at your eyes, only your eyes. It sounds silly and strange and a little self indulgent, but wait for it. Wait for that look…you’ll recognize it when you see it. THAT look, vulnerability, stillness, your soul looking through at you. It may take a minute…ten minutes…maybe more. You’ll know it when you see it…Embrace it. Welcome it. Own the beauty that is inside. Let IT shine through today…tomorrow, all the way to Sunday. Can you do it? Can you feel it and pass it on? Can you carry that vulnerability with you, that authenticity? Can you claim how beautiful you really are, if only for those few minutes?
