My white panda eyes were caught by an article on a new model Winnie Harlow. What was striking about her appearance, was, that she was of Jamaican ancestry with Vitiligo, oh and she is one metre seventy six and an absolute peach! (that is my personal opinion.)
Vitiligo is a skin condition where the body kills off the melanin and so the skin loses all colour.
I have had Vitiligo for many years and know full well what it is like, when people look at you unsure as to what to think. They are aware that it is some sort of illness but is it catching? …..Oh my God he is putting his hand out for me to shake, …what to do !!?
It is wonderful to see a model that is not of the, “Classic” look …what ever that may be. She could quite easily have been made up with makeup, to camouflage the white and then after the show we see her “Naked” as it were.
Yet what is beauty? “ A combination of qualities such as shape, colour or form; that pleases the aesthetic senses.” well that does not help.
But, in todays money, beauty is what the magazines and social media say beauty is …..And today they say it is Winnie. Tomorrow? who knows….
She disputes, when people call her brave for standing tall. “ I am confidant not brave. Vitiligo is part of me.”
The issue she has is that the Vitiligo is defining her; people use her for her contrasting skin tones.
“I am not my skin, I am a model with a skin condition.”
At the makeup academy with have had jobs and have been asked to offer advice to people with Vitiligo. How to hide it; how to blend the white patches so they are not as visual. These people were not as confident as Winnie. Just as she struggled when she was younger or less well known, it is harder to be accepted on every day situations.
Being male and white, having Vitiligo has been a lot easier for me than for my sister. Our society deems that our women must be beautiful at all times and in the “classic” sense. Society can be cruel and is so, many times.
Beauty is happiness within. It is being confident no matter how you look.
Regardless of how long the media find Winnie beautiful, she has created an awareness of a skin condition. She and the other models, who do not fit the norm, show us that beauty is simply….. skin deep….
On a lighter note, have had some new photos sent from Suzana and her fantastic experience in Marrakech. Click Here
Best wishes,
The CB*MA Team