It's TED Talks Daily. I'm Elise Hume.

Modern life continuously reinforces the message that beauty matters.

But who gets to define what's beautiful?

In indigenous communities, beauty isn't porcelain skin or thin waistlines.

So in her 2020 talk from TEDx-Sidney,

Aboriginal woman and former model Sasha Sarago calls us to rethink beauty and what it means to us and whether it should matter so much.

Today, I would like to talk to you about beauty and how we've got it all wrong when it comes to our perceptions of women,

particularly Aboriginal women.

But before I do, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land in which I stand upon,

the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

I pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging,

and give thanks to our ancestors who guide and protect us.

It was 1990, and I was pumped.

I was off to my first birthday party just before I hit the terrible teens. I was off to my first birthday party

just before I hit the terrible teens,

no chaperone,

and no brady sister to tag along

so she could snitch.

I had my cute little outfit on,

gift in hand,

and I was hoping that this little cutie that I liked would show up. And I was hoping that this little cutie that I liked would show up and I was hoping that

this little cutie would ask me this one question you know that question that makes your heart beat right out

...