Background

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Women have always been measured by the subjective idea of beauty. For this reason, many feel unsatisfied with who they are in an attempt to meet society's standards of beauty. As a woman of color, I have been subjected to the same comparisons.

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The definition of beauty has been shaped and reshaped over the years. We have been conditioned to believe that beauty means a certain shape, a certain color, a certain way of carrying oneself. Remnants of this colonization of beauty standards still persist today; society's perception of beauty is still limited. Beauty is more widespread than a single profile. It is not only limited to girls possessing conventional attitudes and beliefs or Eurocentric features. Beauty is the bumps, cracks, and crevices found on the surface and the parts that the surface conceals.

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I have hand-selected a group of amazing women for this project. All have brought forth their own struggles with their identities and appearances. They turn their grievances into celebrations as captured by these images. They have channeled women that relate to them in any way in the hopes that all women find it in themselves to turn their personal insecurities into confidence. This project is as much theirs as it is my own.

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This project highlights different identities and appearances to bring unconventional beauty into the light and ultimately redefine the beauty standard. The aspects of ourselves that make us feel unwanted are what make us unwonted (which doesn't always take on a negative connotation!). Every part of us is worth celebrating.

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-Abby Asuncion