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LoginDating, in general, is a funnily exhausting concept. We are constantly nervous, curious, excited, and overwhelmed all at the same time. Every individual has their reservations regarding dating. Am I attractive enough? How do I hide the flaws and negative sides of my personality?
For ages, women are taught to link their self-worth with physical attractiveness and with a chronic skin condition like vitiligo, a woman may feel conscious, insecure and unattractive. Such an emotional toll can squeeze down the chances of success in the dating world. Laura Gregory, a beauty queen and model with vitiligo, reveals from her own experience that beauty comes in all shapes, size, skin colors and conditions.
For many of us with vitiligo, dating can feel exceptionally difficult. What I struggled with was the overwhelming feeling of being attracted to someone but feeling instantly rejected. Being on a date and trying to figure out whether he actually liked me and overthinking whether to mention I had a skin condition on the first date or simply waiting until he brings it up. Unfortunately it took the excitement out of dating and instead made it feel like a laborious chore with very little hope of a happy ending. Then there was online dating which felt like a job application form and even more stressful than bumping into someone on the street or chatting to someone on a night out. Having to sell yourself amidst millions of other singletons whilst strategically selecting photos that showed your fun side but at the same time indicated that you also had a serious side was tricky enough…..
In , the hashtag vitiligo was just starting to surface on Instagram. California natives April Mitchell and Armando Silva were both following it, looking for people that shared their skin condition. April, who got vitiligo when she was eight months old, had grown up with a mother who was super active in the vitiligo community — naturally, she was too. They were both looking for community — and found each other. Fast forward to , and vitiligo brought them together again — this time in person, at a vitiligo meet up hosted in Los Angeles.
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6/27/2024
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