Beautiful Inspirations

I am always up for guest speaking - especially when we are speaking of young girls and women who have the wrong perception of what it means to be beautiful.

This week I've been asked to be a guest speaker at the Dove Conference taking place in Brampton, which is aimed at girls in Grades 7 & 8, assisting them with self-esteem and body image - among other things.

I do see the dichotomy and paradigm conflicts of which I am faced with. How can I possibly be an advocate or role model, when my company perpetuates the idea of beauty that young women strive to mimick.

My response is really quite simple...the name of my company is the first part of understanding where I stand on this issue. ES Team Productions. often times people make the mistake of pronouncing the first two letters independantly as in "E" and then "S"; however, those two letters are supposed to be pronounced together, and phonectically making the "S" sound. Those two letters represent the first name of my mother "Elizabeth", and the second letter my name. We are a mother/daughter "team" that promote self "esteam" in women.

If women coming to me are looking for us to fill a void that they are missing. We cannot do that - there is no way that we can help someone with the psychological battle they are fighting with themselves - and if seeking to become part of a modelling agency or joining a pageant makes one think that this will assist their insecurities, here is where they make a very serious error. These types of activities exacerbate these insecurities, since in essence you are competing for positions in castings or for a title. The reality is, is that most women that join our pageant system are usually strong, indpendant, and confident women who are seeking to challenge themselves, network, and meet other like-minded individuals.

Because Latin culture and people are so diverse, there really is no one set definition of what constitutues beauty. Latin beauty invloves the celebration of curves, and width because we understand that bodies differ based on ethnicity and sheer DNA. Our winners reflect this - light skinned, dark skinned, tall, short, in between, different countries. Each one of these women have their own insecurities and vices that they fight within themselves - and should you take a moment and speak with them, it is easy to find out that what they value more than anything...is their education.

The unfortunate part of the general public that gets caught up with ideals in magazines and billboards, is that they often forget that for many people they are looking at - THIS IS A JOB. If you were a doctor you would be expected to perfect your skill, if you were a lawyer you would be expected to be the best at knowing the laws, if you are a model - you are expected to be the best physical self you that you can be.

I hope that I can translate to these young women, that loving themself is by far more the best thing that they can do for themselves. I hope that they know that I am a strong and independant business owner - not because I placed value in they way I looked, but placed value in how I felt - and that making other feel good about themselves and highlighting that was the premise of starting a business that was "by women, for women".

All it takes is one person in a position of power and influence to cater and influence a young mind. Mothers, we can only do so much - the rest remains with you - what messages are you sending you daughters? You are their number one influence, and I can only hope that my message tomorrow to these troubled teens affects at least one life.