humankind.
real people. raw beauty.
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SMOOTH MOVES ONLY #LABELSAREFORCLOTHES
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editor’s note. Welcome 2020. Our world right now? We live in a world where we are judged solely on our appearance. No matter how many printed t-shirts, inspirational paragraphs on social media, or short films on body confidence are - it’s still here. And here to stay. If only we could live in a world where we would wake up and look in the mirror and not focus on what’s wrong, but what’s right. One in five adults (20%) felt shame, just over one third (34%) felt down or low, and 19% felt disgusted because of their body image in the last year. Research (mentalhealth.org.uk) has found that higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders. These numbers are rising and rising every year. Yeah, yeah we’ve heard it all before. Social media has taken over the world and is making everyone unhappy. Are we going to delete our apps? ‘Definitely not’. We are a collective of addicted, unhappy individuals who are in control of our own confidence and mindset, and we are the only ones who can make a change. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of scrolling through filtered, airbrushed pictures of the same ‘perfect-looking’ strangers promoting something new everyday. Humankind is a candid magazine that explores humans, their stories, real beauty, confidence and embracing the human body, no matter how it looks. Humankind aims to encourage humans to be the best version of themselves & to feel confident in their own skin.
We want to hear about REAL people. We want to see REAL people. Raw beauty. So that’s why I created this publication. Fuck self-pity, lets feel great again. Cheers to that. Welcome to humankind.
Natasha Hughes x humankind.
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what my scar represents.
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my trans story.
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‘rollinfunky’
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beauty is energy.
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my story.
It was that time of day: sunset, always the best part of the day. The orange and red of the setting sun reflecting off the sea. As I sit here my thoughts give cause for a number of reasons to put on paper; the experiences of my life. Mostly so that my future generation, should be able to remember me in years to come. In this modern world there is so little chance of adventure it would be nice for them to relate to what it was like in my time. As I reflect on my life, of one thing I am sure, none of us really control it, fate does! Where you are at certain times and circumstances of life, time, controls decisions you make. This is very true of life. The old sayings ‘if only’ and ‘in hindsight’, if we all looked back, would we have changed our lives!
words spoken by Terry Hughes.
24th May 1934 - 15th Febuary 2015
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Callum Shaw humankind.
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Emiliano Vittoriosi.
Sam Burriss.
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Hannah Trokan-Paul.
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Brock Elbank.
what my scar represents.
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When my skull was being formed, a piece of skin got trapped on my left eye’s orbit, which after was identified as a tumour that needed to be extracted in order to prevent it reaching the optical nerve. This led me to undergo craniotomy when I was 17, the top of that orbit was replaced by a titanium plate and two screws. Thankfully after examination the tumour was benign, and what remained was this scar that I hid for a long time. Now I feel proud to show it as part of me and my journey, it is something I wouldn’t picture myself without. Almost ten years later I have brought myself to London, pursuing the dream of becoming a Dance and Movement Psychotherapist, with the goal of sharing the therapeutic potential I have found in the art of dancing and the movement of the body throughout hard moments, just like the ones my scar represents.”
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The eyes is prep
s see only what the mind pared to comprehend. Robertson Davies
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seeing yourself
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Have you ever imagined what you look like through the eyes of someone else? Would you look at yourself with the same critical eye as your own? Would you notice your imperfections?
Sometimes judging ourselves and actually seeing ourselves for what we are, with no filter, is one of the hardest things to do. There are parts of us we don’t like and we’d rather not dwell on them, let alone share them with others. I spoke to the individual who knows me inside out, the person who I spend 24/7 with and the human that can be completely honest with me, whether it ends in tears or me screaming down the stairs. I gave her a few of questions to answer, but plot twist: not about herself, but about me. The Questions titled: ‘Here are 50 Deep Questions to Ask Yourself for Deep Insights.’ I knew that the only way I could write about a topic so personal, was to understand it myself, so I had to listen, I had to see myself through someone else’s eyes. This is what she wrote. Why am I so uncomfortable with talking to people I don’t know? Because you fear judgement because you know what people our age especially are like. You also fall into the trap of judging people sometimes and you don’t want people to judge you. What would I do differently if I knew nobody would judge me? Let loose abit more. Get more piercings. Post less edited photos. I think Tash can come across to those who don’t know her as bitchy or dismissive but this is often a misconception as she simply feels uncomfortable interacting with those who she thinks might judge her or wont benefit her life. To combat this, she could simply not worry about pleasing people and try to enjoy herself with those who she does like. `When others see her enjoying herself and seeming more positive, they won’t think she’s simply not wanting to interact - they will realise she is embracing happiness with the people who she enjoys doing so. Tash is also a huge worrier, despite the fact I think she knows she has potential to go far, has ability to do work and I also think she knows she’s pretty and has high standards, however as a people pleaser I think she looks for confirmation of her beauty through Instagram posts, editing, and likes (which i am also guilty of). This can come across as being vain, but I think its more about wanting to feel beautiful.
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Amelia Moys.
What piece of simple yet complex advice would you give yourself? A piece of advice I’d give Tash is to worry less, to simply radiate kindness when faced with an uncomfortable situation, and to open up when the ‘feels’ hit. Tash is a loyal friend over anything. With her friends, she expects to get the respect she gives out. Reading what she wrote was eye opening. I realised every part she said was true, whether I liked it or not. With social media consuming our lives, I’m not going to deny that I care what people think and I do feel like I need some sort of acceptance to feel beautiful from social media, which is something that upsets me. Part of the reason I decided to create this magazine, was to gain the confidence through others to celebrate my personal flaws and the things I struggle with. Only a couple of pages in, it already has and I hope it will help others too. Even if that means me putting this article in, making myself vulnerable to every reader. I expect people to be raw in this publication with me, so I should do the same.
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John Moeses-Bauan
let’s talk more. humankind.
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Hannah Trokan-Paul.
censored. censored.
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cut deep. What is one piece of advice that you would give to your younger self? To try be more hard working from a younger age rather than worrying about social situations and how people see me. What are you most insecure about and why? I am insecure about my nose and my forehead because I think that both are too big compared to others. What is your favourite thing about being alive? Sunny winter mornings, bonfires, old people smiling at me, kind hearted people and dogs. What makes you happy? Making other people happy, and feeling content with life. What is your favourite feature and why? I like my eyes and my style. My style helps me express myself. The world is currently being run by social media: How does social media affect you and your confidence? Is it in a negative or positive way? Personally, social media effects my confidence in a negative way more than anything, however it also inspires me at times: to explore my style . What is your biggest struggle in life? How do you deal with it? Feeling like I’m going to fail and live a sad life of failure due to my own lack of motivation and confusion about where I want to go in life
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my trans story. Liam is a 19 year old, transgender male who studies mental health and counselling at university. Only coming out as trans a year ago, he is already feeling his mental health improve being true to who he is and open and comfortable in who he is. Part of this meant he was happy to answer some questions on the topic, openly and honestly, which really does show that there is good in humanity, somewhere underneath the evil and suffering humans have the capacity to inflict. Liam wasn’t gaining anything in breaking these barriers with me, a total stranger and telling his story, but his story may help others with their own self-discovery and begin to love who they are. In Liam’s words: ‘There is no better sense of euphoria than finally discovering who you are and who you want to be.’
Humankind is a magazine that celebrates humans; what’s your favourite thing about humankind? ‘How different everyone is! Humans are so diverse, unique and beautiful. Even in small categories like Transgender people there is still so much uniqueness with each person. There are masculine, feminine and neutral trans men, trans women, cis people; everyone expresses themselves in different ways and its absolutely amazing. I love to see how many different groups of people, communities and personalities that come together in a place such as a university.’ When did you first begin to understand that you were transgender? ‘I was never educated about what it was to be Transgender. I thought at first I was just very tomboyish in primary school, and back then my feminine ‘features’ hadn’t developed. In secondary school, I had some depression/anxiety due to some unrelated things and
also about my body and chalked up my distaste of my physical image to just ‘body confidence’ issues as its very common in teenage girls. I never really felt like I fit my name but again thought it just to be issues with not feeling unique as a teenage girl as there were quite a few people with the same name as me. As I got older and began to discover the LGBTQ+ community, the people around me who I considered friends at the time were very toxic and anti, I barely felt comfortable not being straight around them but they were the only friends I had. This meant that I was influenced to be quite anti-trans so was further in denial about the confusion I felt around my body. Only as I came to university, became friends with accepting people, became more educated about the topic, I then realised that all this negativity, all this hating my body and thinking “it would be so much easier to just be a guy” etc, was me being transgender. It took a few months to come to terms with this as it pretty much shattered my previous, more toxic mindset towards the whole thing, but now, being Liam is the happiest I’ve ever been.’
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Do you find it challenging being a trans male in society today? ‘I haven’t changed my name legally due to family issues. I am short, curvy and my voice is quite high pitched. I often get misgendered because I haven’t had any surgery or hormones so I often can very blatantly sound female. I cannot wear my chest binder all the time either, as it can actually break my ribs if I over-wear it. I understand that I am very easily seen as a female, but it can still get me down a little when I get misgendered by people I see on a weekly basis. As I haven’t changed my legal name, my university ID, my own ID, my bank accounts, legal documents and so on are all under my deadname. I am also not out to wider members of my family. I go by at least 3 different names on a regular basis, depending on who I talk to so it gets very confusing and I often panic when introducing myself to new people that aren’t university students.’ Have you received any backlash from friends or family since you have come out? ‘People I used to be friends with when I was in 6th form were rather toxic and anti, so they didn’t take it seriously and made fun. (I’ve cut them off now) Additionally, my dad is very unaccepting. He refuses to believe that this isn’t a phase, he said “I refuse to ever call you Liam”, doesn’t
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use my correct pronouns and says “if you want to dress up in men’s clothes that’s okay with me” as if I’m doing it as a fashion statement or something. My mum is accepting and so are my university friends, so its not all bad.’ Would you say you are a confident person? If so, have you always been confident? If not, why do you think that is? ‘I am not a confident person. I have diagnosed severe depression and high levels of anxiety. This is due to the people I used to be around and how I used to be treated in my younger teens. The people I have met at uni have made me feel comfortable to be me, I am slowly regaining my confidence and I couldn’t be happier about it. I am making strides into being confident in myself and its amazing to feel this way.’ What is your favourite part about yourself? ‘My shoulders are wide, which is seen as quite masculine and can help me feel better about myself when I experience dysphoria. I really like my eyes even if they are quite feminine. Their green/yellow/blue mix is pretty and they are quite slim in shape which I personally love. I have really long/prominent eyelashes too which I enjoy having and it means I didn’t, and don’t need to wear makeup on a daily basis.’
I am making strides into being confident in myself and it’s amazing to feel this way.
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What would you say to someone struggling with more, this has shaped my entire life’s goals and my actions towards others.’ their confidence? ‘Everyone is different. Everyone finds different parts of different people attractive in different ways. There may be parts of yourself you dislike, but I can assure you that other people love them! I feel really selfconscious about my stomach and face being still rather full of baby fat but a lot of people I know think its really cute. Pressure from others and society to look a specific way is difficult to avoid, but I really recommend you try your best to express yourself the way YOU want. Dress in the clothes YOU find comfy that make you feel good. If you want to completely change up your look, go for it! If you want to dress similar to an idol, I’m sure you’ll look great! In the world of self-expression there is no wrong answer, look after yourself and do your best to be happy.’ What would you consider your best achievement in life/proudest moment? How has that defined you? ‘In the grand scheme of things, I am still very young. I haven’t really lived all of my life so I don’t really have any massive achievements that I can stand by but there are many small things that shape who I am. I have spent many years of my life talking to depressed and suicidal people and have often been there for them when they are considering self-harm or committing suicide. I have helped so many people so far and when I become a professional counsellor I will be able to help even
What is your favourite thing about being alive? ‘The fact that I still am. I’ve struggled for years with mental health and haven’t seen myself making it to 20 years old for quite a long time. I’m 20 early next year, I’m at university doing what I find interesting and I have friends and a boyfriend who love me for who I am and who I want to be. I have lacked the feeling of being in a friend group that I belong with and I have struggled with human connection and letting people past my mental barriers for years due to how badly I have been treated by others in my early teens to about 16 years old. Only now, in my second year of uni, I am beginning to find people I can genuinely connect myself to emotionally and who I very much care about. I never thought I would be in this position, I never thought I would be this happy, it really was worth it to keep going.’ If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be? ‘I would maybe tell young er me to look up what it means to be transgender. To educate them in the LGBTQ+ community before I met the toxic people who shaped my negative mindset for so many years. To keep pushing through because it really does get better.’
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keep pushing through because it really does get better.
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The world is currently being run by social media: What piece of advice do you live by? How does social media affect you? Is it in a negative or positive way? “For other trans males out there, if Chris Evans ‘Social media is pretty much necessary at this point. I can have a chest that isn’t flat so can you!” use it to promote my embroidery commissions, I have ‘This is by far one of the best pieces of help I have to use it to be in contact with classmates for group seen on the internet to deal with chest dysphoria. projects, I can keep in touch with my family while I’m One of the symbols of America and ‘manliness’ at university. I also use it to see other transgender has a chest that is far from flat, and it makes people’s stories. Seeing other men get their me feel a lot better about my chest still not being Testosterone shots or their top surgery brings hope completely flat when I wear my chest binder.’ to me and it also has been extremely educational for the processes I am and will be going through. If you had the power to change one thing in this While social media is great for communication, world, what would it be? education and the spreading of positivity, it can also be negative in the wrong hands. People can ‘Waiting lists for mental health and identity help. easily be manipulated and influenced to believe that UK waiting lists for NHS therapies and clinic certain commimites or people are deviants or harmful referrals are sometimes years long. If someone to society, kids can be bullied over the smallest of is mentally unwell, feeling suicidal or are having things, rumours can be started that can ruin entire problems in the present, what help is it that they careers. However social media isn’t the problem have to wait months to years to see a therapist?’ there, it is the attitudes of the people using it.’ With Liam’s candid responses and strength to talk about such a personal topic, we should follow in his footsteps and be honest to ourselves, in How would you define beauty? whatever situation that may be. We are all humans, ‘I don’t think beauty CAN be defined. There is we are all uniquely different and that should be obviously beauty in people you find attractive celebrated, instead of leaving someone feeling or pretty but I also find beauty in how people so worthless they no longer feel comfortable in think and act. I very often become disinterested their own skin. Humankind is beautiful whether in people based on their actions instead of a you are straight, gay, transgender or however physical flaw and your personality speaks way you choose to identify - we are all people. louder than your hair or your clothes ever could.’
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Image by Luke Braswell
flawed? flawless? Is beautiful skin only ever spotless? Join the beauty debate. humankind.
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nfunky’ clara holmes
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If you could personify empowerment and confidence, Clara Holmes would be just that. Clara is a Fashion & Lifestyle Blogger and Model from London. To the eye, the first thing you notice is how brightly she shines, even through her condition which has left her being a wheelchair user for the last 14 years. ‘I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) type III which comes in different spectrum’s of severity’. ‘However, I am very stubborn! I refuse to let the pain and the condition hold me back. I started my blog rollinfunkyblog.com three and half years ago and was signed to modelling agency Zebedee Management two and half years ago, fulfilling my childhood dream to become a model. I am passionate about promoting body positivity, self-love and motivating others, while showing and sharing a positive side of someone living with a disability.’
From the work Clara has accomplished so far, such as being featured in Vogue, many campaigns for brands such as River Island and Missguided, along with taking a step to shed light on issues within the fashion industry such as visiting the Houses of Parliament to be part of a meeting for the @fashionroundtable on Representation and Inclusion in the Fashion Industry - she has already been so successful in the last 3 years. However, Clara disagrees. ‘Thank you for describing me as ‘successful’, I personally feel I have a long way to go before I willingly describe myself as describe myself as successful. For where I have reached in this fashion blogger/influencer role is down to hard work and dedication.’ The awareness on disabilities and conditions in the fashion industry is growing with a recent surge of diversity in campaigns and the first wheelchair user on the catwalk in 2015, and more since but there is still a long way to go, hence why individuals like Clara are fighting for exactly that. ‘It is certainly challenging having a disability in the fashion industry. Brands can often have outdated views when it come to their ideals of beauty, which can be challenging, but I am willing to open their eyes to the possibilities that being different is good and the importance of representation.’ ‘I think a whole lot more needs to be done. It’s great we have people of different races representing in the fashion industry and some brands embracing different sizes and heights but there is still lots more can be done when it comes to models with disabilities.’
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Working in an industry which is centred around aesthetics and the way something looks has the potential to be very damaging on confidence and self esteem, so it is challenging not to feel pressured to look a certain way, especially with the social media fixation and obsession which consumes so many of us. ‘To be honest, I don’t feel pressured to look a certain way, because I am really 100% myself. I think I would feel that pressure if it wasn’t really me and I was playing a role on my social media. I you bumped into me on the street, I am exactly you see on my social media. Having integrity and being honest is what is important to me, I never want to be fake.’ Being lucky enough to have spoken to Clara in person, I can confirm that she is exactly that, if not more confident in person. She radiates so much positivity and confidence but has she always been so confident especially with the physical challenges she faces? ‘Growing up I wasn’t confident or happy with my body image at all, then when I became a wheelchair user the tiny bit of confidence I had disappeared. However, over time I realised I wasted to much time unhappy with the way I looked before I became a wheelchair user something had to change. So, over time as I got used to my new normal and accepted my condition, I became more comfortable that’s when my confidence grew. Now I am more confident and happy than I have ever been in my life.’
As individuals we need to cherish the little things in life, or life fullstop. Instead of always focusing on what we don’t have, or what could be better - we need to appreciate the good. Clara admits ‘It sounds cheesy but being alive makes me happy. I am so grateful for life and the people in my life. I am very adventurous and will try anything that is physically possible.’ Being positive and happier as individuals is always a lot harder than it seems, with the world still turning and social media pages still refreshing we need to learn to love ourselves. Focus on our best features and qualities and why we value them! ‘My favourite feature is my ears and my smile. I take a lot of slight side profile photos as I like my ears. I also smile a lot in my photos because, I feel I look better when I smile as I have a “bad bitch resting” face and can look angry.’ ‘Social media doesn’t really affect me negatively because I don’t let it take over my life. Its certainly has a somewhat positive impact on my life as I can reach people especially those that may have a certain view of a wheelchair user or people with disabilities.’ In this society there is so many ideals of ‘beauty’ and what makes someone ‘beautiful’. How you define beauty is often a clear signifier on how you view yourself. ‘Confidence is beauty. Having the confidence to own who you are and be you regardless of size, ability, gender, race or age. Is beauty in my eyes.’ Be you and do you always, is the quote I live by. What’s your favourite thing about humankind? ‘The power to adapt to change. As humans we have such inner strength that can change not just our own lies and the lives of others, which I think is just amazing.’ If you had the power to change one thing in this world, what would it be? ‘World peace and equal opportunities for all.’ I think everyone can take something from Clara’s success and her story - if she can do it, and be restricted physically at the same time- so can we all.
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‘beauty is energy’.
Mathilde Arctander, 24 is an occupational therapist, who is not only uniquely beautiful to the eye, but has a kind heart and genuine care for humankind. Mathilde has a very rare skin condition: innate melanocytic nevus. Only 10-11 people in her home country of Norway have this skin disease, which means that there is little information avaliable, and people do stop and stare. Living with this all her life, Mathilde has built a stong mindset and has grown confident in the person she is, with or without CMN.
‘I think it is important and interesting how much we I have not always had good self-esteem because of
my moles. It took time before I was able to accept humans need each other. No matter how different we are, my appearance. By exposing myself in bikinis and we need each other. We have different personalities and not covering myself so much in large clothes, I no one looks quite alike. But the most important thing is gradually managed to become more fond of myself.’ to take care of each other. No matter what you look like.’ Mathilde explained how she ‘wrote down what I liked about myself and thought about what my best qualities As humans, we should be focusing on our were’, which is her key advice for someone struggling with favourite qualities and where our strengths lie, confidence and not being happy with the way they look. instead of bullying ourselves on what isn’t ‘quite right’ or the features that we weren’t born with. We were all born to look a certain way, each ‘What I like best about myself is that I am unique feature different from another - instead of letting and stand out. In the past I did not like all the moles, self pity and self hatred get in the way, as humans but now I like them very well. CMN has made me we need to learn to love ourselves and embrace mentally stronger. Especially because people looked what we do have - it’s what makes us special. at me and commented on it, and people still do that.
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raw. ‘If I had to change something then it would be social media. I would have removed the accounts that post unrealistic and edited pictures. So many young followers out there looking at bodies that are ‘perfect’ on Instagram, but they are edited. The bodies are often filled with silicone in all body parts as well. That’s why I pay tribute to those who post natural pictures and dare to show who they are. That’s what gives a positive impact instead At a young age you are careless, free from judgement, of all of photoshop. And that’s what self-confidence is.’ immune to what people think. As a young girl, Mathilde was aware she looked different from others Every day picture after picture of unrealistic, fake, ‘beauty’ and was much more self aware than most children. standards are consumed by millions of individuals. the At 24, her advice to her younger self now would have helped her fixation that we have with what’s ‘beautiful’ and what we become confident sooner, but could help other people now. should look like according to social media is damaging us as ‘It’s difficult and it will take time to accept yourself when you humans. Our confidence, our mental health and our bodies. look different, but I think the best is to focus on the positive. Focus on everything you like about yourself. Go out and try to Mathilda’s advice? ‘I myself only follow accounts that I like gradually expose your body. Wear a dress or a bikini. Maybe it and influence me positively. Accounts that show beauty in wasn’t as bad as you thought. Work with your thoughts on your a different way. Accounts showing people who have CMN. body. After all, beauty is not just appearance. Beauty is your And for example: virtiligo, amputated bones and alopecia.’ energy, how you are as a person and how you are with others.’ In simple words, Mathilda believes as humans, we need to ‘love ourselves’. Plain and simple, but a lot So many things in this world could be replaced, changed easier said than done. If Mathilda: with a rare skin or altered. Nothing’s perfect, just like us as human beings. condition yet equally as beautiful, can do it; so can you. ‘I was very happy with myself the first time I challenged myself to go bikini on the beach. I had never done it before and one day I was motivated to do so. I went to the bikini booth for the first time in my life and showed off my giant mole that I have at the hip. Of course, some glances would come, but I was aware of that. I imagined it to be terrible and scary. It wasn’t that bad. It actually went better than I thought.’
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just be happy. ‘don’t worry about things too much’
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# FEMALEFAMILY 50
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be your own kind of
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humankind. x
GIL ZAMORA
‘real beauty’ illustrator
see your beauty through someone else’s eyes with an illustration by FBI forensic artist.
march 26. april 16 & 29.
you’re more beautiful than you think. location TBA. £20 pp. humankind.
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‘to live is the rarest thing in the world.’
Eberhard Grossgasteiger. South Tyrol, Italy.
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