Beauty in Your Own Words

Intersectional beauty is the framework of Scout’s vision. The complexities of beauty innately addresses the advocacy required towards feminism, diversity + body positivity. This requires us to witness to the experience of others. By giving them space to listen and learn, we can further develop our compassion (in essence, to suffer together) and work towards supporting a better future. Scout is committed to being a safe space for honesty and transformation. This is your space to share your beauty in your own words. It has been an honour to share this with you Alexa, Megan, Monique and Wahaj.

Alexa

My high school, my elementary school were predominately white. I had my first Black friend when I came to university. There were different cultures, but I think there were three biracial kids in my high school. It was a very small amount. I never really knew my Black side. It was mostly just my white side of myself I saw. But now I’m accepting my hair and all of that. It’s all about learning and growing. Going through family histories. What I love most about being me is that I am a very happy person, but also a very honest person. Intersectional beauty is when I can go out and look at people and see beauty in every person. It means going on the internet and seeing different types of people, different body types, different skin types, different hair. It means seeing every single person no matter what they look like.

Megan

I think I’m really blessed because I have different cultures. My mom is from the Philippines and my dad is French Metis. I love living in Canada because there is so many cultures. I know growing up it wasn’t so much for me because I feel like I have a lighter skin tone, but people have told me to “go back back to your country”. You get those kind of things, but it’s really important to have the kind of conversations, like okay where is that thought process coming from? This is Canada. We’re all from different places and to be more accepting and loving of others and have that love shine through. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. We’re all here now. There’s no one way to be beautiful. Women and girls are dealing with really unrealistic beauty standards. Intersectional beauty is being yourself, being real and authentic. Being different is beautiful.

Monique

Monique : Coming from Jamaica you would see so many people who looked like you, but coming to Canada you would see so many people that are different from you and that’s a beautiful thing. But sometimes you get caught up in this idealistic beauty. Honestly, it’s been recently with all of the things that have been happening in the world, just focusing on my own strength and knowing that if I don’t believe that I’m beautiful, because other people might not think I’m beautiful, if I don’t believe it myself then it leaves you with an empty feeling really. So I’ve just kind of to grown to figure out for myself beauty for myself and knowing that I am beautiful. When someone tells you that you’re beautiful if you don’t believe it, you don’t feel it. Knowing for myself that I know that I feel beautiful. My favourite part of being is me is when someone will tell me that I made their day brighter and if I could just have a little bit of light in the world.

Wahaj

Beauty in and of itself is a subjective term and when you put intersection in front of it, it makes it so that every kind of beauty is beautiful. We need to have all of those different representations. My mom is half German and so we have a little bit of an interesting east meets west kind of thing. I was never able to grow up in Iraq, so I’ve always been displaced in a sense. Iraqi’s and Arab people in general have such a strong sense of community, so there’s something to be said about being Iraqi outside of Iraq and always coming to those roots. I always feel at home when I’m closest to those roots. There was a period time where I strayed away and I felt like a stranger in my own body. So being Iraqi and embracing that ground me. What I love most about being me is that there is no one else like me. I believe in magic. I think that’s something the world needs more of.