Drawing an imperfect body is like drawing a magical creature - it can have lumps and stubble, asymmetrical eyes and dry elbows, a boxy waist?...and no one bats an eye. No one says that sketch needs filler or a filter. If anything, we are humored and charmed by the creator's imagination.
Purposeful imperfections in illustration books sell more copies, imperfections on paper are celebrated for their whimsy and charm. Yet when it comes to real bodies, we are conditioned to judge what is ugly or beautiful, conditioned to separate ourselves, even though we are one and the same in the grand cycle of existence. Yet we are conditioned to find the difference, to feel shame about wrinkles, to buy something instead of doing a silly jiggly dance.
It's getting better, I hope it gets better. Let's embrace these gifts: the wrinkles and the grays, the skin and bones and rolls and lumps. Yes, let's strive to be healthy, and even dewy and fresh, but not at the expense of intolerance to ourselves and others. Not by redefining what a human face "should" look like. Let the crows feet caw and celebrate the whimsy in all faces and bodies, from the chubby baby to the curvy adult, celebrate all ages, all shapes and sizes, just like we do through doodles and sketches.
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