“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” [Amy Bloom]
Today we had a Muslim woman come in and speak in my first year seminar class since we just finished up reading Persepolis. She spoke of Allah and the reasoning behind the hijab. The hijab is a personal choice made by Muslims, and she continually spoke of the falsified information making the women of Islam seem oppressed.
"Lower your eyes and cover your privets," she said. "Look only once because if you look again you will stop listening to what they say and start looking at their features. Their pretty lips, their beautiful eyes."
"Get rid of your desires, and let God fill your heart," she said.
Let yourself be free, I say.
Now don't get me wrong I respect her culture and religion immensely, because she is living for her God and being the person she believes he wants her to be.
But everything I stand for is about loving your body and embracing your sexuality, and I think that idea can scare some people.
Desire is a natural feeling and should in no way be suppressed. Now I'm not saying you need to go around and sleep with everyone you feel yourself attracted to, but don't feel ashamed if you kiss a few frogs before you find your prince.
We were all made with these bodies that are absolutely beautiful pieces of art; each one is sculpted in a different form, and that should be looked at, appreciated.
Emotions, actions...these things can be controlled, but we don't need to hide ourselves in order to do it.
Stop looking down and look up.
Make eye contact, gaze into those beautiful eyes, watch the way their mouth moves, count every freckle on their face. Every crease, every wrinkle has a story to tell.
Admire the art of the human face and body.
There is so much beauty to be found in accepting sexuality, embrace it.
