I am not perfect

Not in the way society portrays it to be

I do not fit into the shallow, superficial expectations 

That bind women in chains 

And that make us feel inferior to our fellow women

 

Media sets standards for us that cannot be reached. 

They fail to realize that their labels are more destructive

than the procedures that women undergo to try to fulfill

the ostentatious roots of words like

perfect,

flawless. 

 

My body is marked with blemishes

And stretch marks from when puberty plagued my body. 

I do not look like a model.

 

In a society where the success of women is measured by

waist size,

eyebrow shape,

thigh gaps,

it is hard achieve self acceptance.

 

Why are we as women allowing this label that demeans and undermines

our qualities that are worth so much admiration? 

Why should our greatest quality be our appearance?

 

We need to repudiate these narrow minded definitions of words like

perfect, 

flawless, 

and join together to reinvent

their meanings into something worthy

of our beautiful, incredible intellect.

 

My mother once told me beauty is only skin deep.

My assets do not come from the size of my ass,

Rather from the creativity and complexity of my mind

 

My character can outshine

Any photoshopped model in a playboy magazine

Who is labeled "flawless" by the media

 

Our success should be determined by our capabilities and accolades 

Because despite what media says,

 

we are flawless.

 

I am flawless.