Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm your host for this week, Jody Powell. This

Black History Month episode we're talking about a word one can describe as

loaded beauty. We have two stories for you today both deal with some of the

first interactions our storytellers had with beauty standards and the

ramifications that had for them. It got me thinking about a moment from my own

childhood. I entered my first pageant at nine years old when I was living in

Jamaica. It was never explicitly called a beauty pageant although I'm sure that

word was thrown in there somewhere but it was never really that for me. I really

had no idea what beauty even was at that point. The pageant for me was more like a

talent show where you got to wear your casual shorts and sing the song you

like and when I decided I wanted to do it my whole community got involved. My

mother was an English teacher at the local high school and the class helped me

memorize my talent song and my brother took care of showing me how to walk in my

patent leather Mary James. The day of the show they all showed up and watched me

take home the big prize at the end of the night and it really was a great feeling.

The boys went hollering through the streets and woke my grandmother up to tell

her the great news and I went home with my gifts. As I unwrapped them one by one

I discovered porcelain and plastic dolls with blonde hair and blue eyes that

looked nothing like me. This moment in my life raised a lot of questions for me.

The message wasn't explicit but after working so hard on something and

receiving these dolls as prizes the message was clear and loud to me. Our two

storytellers this week reveal their own journeys in the world of beauty,

...