How I Overcame Stereotypes to Grow My Brand

Thank you Dove for sponsoring this post. How do you define #RealBeauty?

I have been blogging a few years now, but very few people (if any) know the back story of what helped to make my brand what it is today. If that’s something you’ve been wondering, you’re in the right place!

Growing up, I had to battle through multiple stereotypes: being African-American in a racist parish, who honestly didn’t want us there in the first place, being a nerd in school and being a tomboy in a girl’s shoes.

I was constantly teased for always doing my work, the clothes I wore and how feminine I didn’t look or dress. I even got side eyed for dating a Caucasian guy. It was enough to drive anyone crazy and to a breaking point, especially caring so much about what others thought back then. Through consistent prayer, maturing and realizing how much better I was doing in life than those who teased me, it made me think to myself, “Why care?” and to just be myself. Having a mind of my own and that mental strength has helped to develop my blog and content into what it is today. Others’ opinions of me don’t matter. I am African-American. I could care less about race and who anyone dates. I am a nerd. I am still a tomboy at heart and I can dress the way I want. Anyone who doesn’t like it doesn’t have to.

My story is very similar to a girl named Kylee Howell, who felt out of place in her community and town. She grew up in a place where only feminine beauty was accepted. At a point in her life, Kylee wanted her hair cut short and the barbershops in town had “men’s only” signs. This brought her to the point of not only cutting her hair like she wanted, but opening a barbershop of her own to empower women and also men to embrace their identity and be themselves. Kylee’s attitude towards things reminds me a lot of myself and watching her video touched my soul, her message of non-conformity and self-assurance, and also how she’s contributing to shed the biased definitions of beauty for other women in her town and community. You can view the brief video here to hear and watch her story. The video itself was produced by Dove Real Beauty Productions, where Dove is shifting the power of storytelling into women who battle things like this on a daily basis and in real life. It encourages other women like us to find our real beauty and to constantly embrace who we are.

Here are a couple of facts to help you understand what a serious issue acceptance is across the board for women:

• 74% of women believe the current definition of beauty needs to be redefined and also, 3 out of 4 lesbian and gay women have the belief that society suggests they don’t care about beauty.
  • Though I’m personally not lesbian, I can somewhat relate. I feel that society thinks that there isn’t beauty in being a tomboy and that 100% feminine is the only way to go being a woman. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Having this taste in style allows me to experiment with a wider range in clothing, and that is beauty in itself.
• The definition of beauty is changing much faster than the industry can keep up with.
  • This is definitely true. I can look at a brand’s commercials month after month and notice so many changes in trends and styles, even changes in the models they use. That gives me hope for change in a positive direction, knowing that more and more people are becoming exposed to this evolution in beauty in society.

I applaud Dove for spreading this message throughout the web and through content creators like myself. I am within that 74% of women who feels that society needs to change their perception and be more welcoming to change and to self-identity. Acknowledgement is the first step towards change. I hope this post encourages you in some capacity to never let go of who you are and to embrace the image in which you were created 🙂

Photos: In Common Photography

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.