Member-only story
Ugly Girls Transform!
How the world shapes us
Muddling through my tween and teen years was rough. Tall, lanky and awkward, with acne, temperamental hair, and, for some inexplicable reason, huge, always-visible nipples on A-cup boobs, I struggled to balance the head-held-high confidence my parents tried to force on me and the devastating insults the world heaps on Ugly Girls.
My love of reading and studying expanded my intellect and broadened my horizons but those are solitary endeavors. My saving grace was a friendly, outgoing personality and my father’s kindergarten advice to seek out and befriend those others might not see. That’s how I met Lonette* (certainly not her real name).
Lonette was my doppelganger with most of the same physical characteristics that our peers did not find cute or desirable. Unlike me, her parents were not progressive Black Militants; they had too many other children to recognize or try to forestall self-confidence issues in their daughter. Like me, she also felt which way the wind blew which made her turn inward with hunched shoulders, permanent downcast eyes and a clear desire not to be noticed. The world fills in all vacuums.
One problem with being an Ugly Girl is that, with the emphasis on good looks inevitably leading to more favorable treatment, people believe you are disposable. You can and will be done…
