It’s just a filter right?! A simple filter that a pretty popular Instagram user wanted to use. @holymariia decided that she would try to use a vitiligo filter on one of her pictures. She currently has 981K followers and is based in Jerusalem. I found out about her by my other following @laur_elyse. I have been following her since 2018. She has vitiligo and is a makeup artist. She actually found out about @holymariia’s post and was the first to comment on the picture. Other people agreed with Lauren. I wanted to see what the hype was all about so I took a look at the picture. It was a picture of @holymariia and yes she did have a filter of vitiligo. A filter of vitiligo. Even typing this makes me cringe. Somebody would actually use a filter to make a discoloration to their skin. I found this picture highly offensive. Why would you want to add a discoloration to your skin when people who have vitiligo strive for perfect skin? Just writing about this is making my vitiligo act up! I had commented on her photo and there were numerous people who were begging her to take this photo down. I checked this morning and the photo was still up. I just don’t understand the meaning of the photo. She states that she did the photo to raise awareness. What kind of awareness are you raising other than being insensitive to an auto-immune condition?! I am utterly appalled by this photo and how she would think that it would be cute. I try my best to cover every part of my vitiligo. Currently my eyebrows and eyelashes are changing to a super white color. I make sure to pluck every one of these out. I do my best to use makeup on my face where the vitiligo is prominent. What’s the big deal you ask? It comes down to feeling comfortable in your on skin. It comes down tot he fact hat vitiligo is not accepted by many people. Yes, Whinnie Harlow has brought vitiligo to the fashion scene and has shown that she can model with it but how about the reality of it. Most people are not a model and most people who have vitiligo have other health issues as well. I guess I am just upset that a filter would be used that is an auto-immune condition that has no cure. I know writing on her will not change anything but I was really struck but the insensitivity of a media influencer.
Tag: vitiligo
Beauty Marks
“Mama, why do I have spots on my body?” That is a question I had always asked my mom. Her response never changed, “They are your beauty marks.” Even though she would tell me this, I never felt beautiful. I wanted to be beautiful. I wanted to fit in. I wanted normal skin. Beautiful flawless skin. Skin without scars, without spots. Why did this happen to me? Why did I get so unlucky? These were questions I had asked myself on a daily basis. I would wake up in the morning, look into the mirror and then look away. Finally after graduating highschool, I decided that I would not let my spots get the best of me. I decided to do some research. I made an appointment with a dermatologist and found out I had Vitiligo. That’s my disease. That’s why I am so different. I now had two options. I could either let this disease get the best of me or I could learn to embrace it. It wasn’t until I had went to a gas station and saw the most beautiful woman covered in spots. Covered in spots and showing them off. Not ashamed. Not embarrassed. I thought to myself, hey she is like me, she is spotted. I felt the need to talk to her. I had to approach her. I needed to hear her story. I had no idea how I was going to approach her but I did. I slowly asked, “Do you have Vitiligo?” I think I startled her. She dropped her coffee all on the ground. I felt so embarrassed. Why did I approach her? Why did I ask her if I already knew the answer? “Oh, you mean my beauty marks?” She replied. My heart skipped a beat and my mouth dropped wide open. I started to tear up and studdered, “bbbeeaauuttyy mmaarrkkss?” “Yes, these are my beauty marks. Only people who are unique and special are blessed with these beauty marks like ours.” I wanted to wrap my arms around this lady and give her the biggest hug possible. I stood there and stared at her. I had so many questions to ask her. She cleaned up her coffee and gave me a huge smile. She seemed like she was in a hurry. I didn’t want her to leave. I wanted to talk to her. She started to walk away. I followed her. She got to the counter to pay for her coffee. She probably thought I was a weirdo for following her but I needed to talk to her. She turned as she was leaving and said “Remember, don’t ever think that you are not beautiful and no matter what anybody says, just know that there’s not that many people out there who can be like us.” It made me feel so special after hearing those kind words. I watched her walk away. I was left speechless and shocked. This woman had spots, more spots than I had but she embraced them. She showed them off. I left that gas station that day feeling better than I have in my whole entire life. That lady changed my life forever.
She is stronger than ever! 