how would you define beauty is it having
the perfect skin the perfect hair or the
perfect body the merriam-webster
dictionary defines beauty as the quality
or aggregate of qualities in a person or
thing that gives us pleasure to the
census or pleasurably exalts the mind or
spirit from country to country the
perception of beauty is vastly different
and qanitin’ continuously changes as the
idea evolves two summers ago I had the
opportunity to get a glimpse into what
Beauty means to the Burmese men and
women living in the mela refugee camp as
I explored the camp and spoke to the
refugees I couldn’t help but notice the
makeup they were on a day-to-day basis
known as Tanaka a cosmetic paste used on
the face or arms I later learned that
this paste has been used by the Burmese
men and women for centuries this
tradition passed down by the men and
women of Burma sparked my interest in
what the true meaning of beauty is is it
the makeup we wear is it the clothes we
dress ourselves in or is it something
bigger something deeper within us in New
Zealand the Maori people have been
decorating their faces with tattoos
called moko for centuries similar to the
Burmese men and women the Maori women
used these tattoos to express their
beauty in Mauritania located in western
Africa the phrase bigger-is-better
applies when it comes to beauty
standards amongst women from a young age
as young as seven girls are forced to
eat large quantities of couscous and
goat’s milk to gain weight rapidly
consuming up to 16,000 calories a day
that’s about four point four pounds of
food a day in contrast to the United
States stretchmarks and rolling layers
of fat are sought-after and praised in
Mauritania social cost
social constructs of beauty in
mauritania the United States and
worldwide are guaranteed to have
negative consequences on young people
and society as a whole the desire for
large figures in mauritania has resulted
in obesity and low self-image amongst
women leaving girls searching for their
value in the opinion of others worried
that being thin will result in them
being unwanted by men and tormented by
their friends and family like any other
country in the United States has
undergone a beauty revolution beginning
with rubenesque figures in the 1800’s
the new Beauty standard today revolves
around an obsession with models movies
social constructs around the world have
resulted in negative effects on boys and
girls resulting in approximately 8
million people affected by eating
disorders in the United States alone I
am one of those eight million it first
began with a photo specifically my
eighth-grade choir class photo I was 13
at the time and the first thing I
thought when I saw it was I’m fat what
began is wanting to lose a couple pounds
soon turned into something very
self-destructive and toxic I became
obsessed with numbers counting calories
and watching the number on the scale
drop I began to equate my value with
being thin I thought that the thinner I
was the more beautiful I’d become while
I was wrong
three years and 30 pounds later with
constant support I’ve learned that sorry
I’ve learned that my body is beautiful
regardless of its imperfections I’ve
learned that beauty is so much more than
the gap between your thighs or the size
of your jeans surrounded by magazines
movies and social media that emphasize
the imperfections and blemishes of young
teens and adults makes it seem nearly
impossible to move past the surface
layer well I’d say it’s time to move
past the surface layer and have the
courage to break through the social
constructs of beauty so what’s your on
beauty mark what I mean by this is what
part of yourself doesn’t fit society’s
construct of beauty
what part of yourself bothers you the
most is it the size of your thighs is it
your cellulite is it the fat on your
hips we must look past the way our
society defines beauty we must we must
love and embrace our own beauty marks
because they are the building blocks of
the beautiful loving and intelligent you
we must remember that somewhere in this
world there’s a country culture or tribe
that would consider your own beauty mark
the ideal beauty as a society and as
individuals we must learn to talk about
beauty in an empowering and inspiring
way rather than picking and probing at
imperfections now is the time to stand
up for your own beauty marks now is the
time to love the real you thank you [Applause]