Fabulize Mag Culture: ‘Got Body’? An ode to body image

Check out LD Henriquez’s spoken work poetry video on body image

Fabulize Mag:
Where are you from?
LD:Heritage wise, St. Lucia & Jamaica mainly. Currently residing in the UK. Spent my younger years in Orlando, FL.

What inspired you to do this video?
LD: The negative influence of the media (music videos, general TV, models) and the increase in somewhat damaging repercussions ; (e.g. botched cosmetic surgery and the ridiculous lengths it’s going to!) I was also inspired by the standards that men and women are holding themselves to and what seems like an increase in insecurities everywhere. We need more body positive messages and an optimistic outlook about being ourselves!

Who are your favorite poets and writers?
LD: Poets: Sunni Patterson, Mark Gonzales. Writers: Dean Koontz, Toure, Traci Brown, Langston Hughes, Sophie Kinsella

Why do you feel image is such a main concept of women, specifically black women?
LD: Because the industry had never been created around/for our images, so I believe a lot of us have tried to fit in, subconsciously or actively and it has had harmful effects, whether it be emotionally or physically. This isn’t the case for everyone but it is prevalent throughout.

If you had a daughter, what is one of the things you would teach her that you had an issue with as for as body image is concerned?
LD: [To] appreciate beauty in all forms, but work on being the best ‘you’. Everybody else is already taken.

Name and list your top favorite Body/Hair products?

LD:Jamaican Mango & Lime Hair Gel, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Baby Oil… I love oils in general.

In the perfect world women would believe that they were ____________
LD: …’created conclusive without question’ / would have bodies absent from cosmetic surgery (re constructive is a different case of course!)
Every woman likes to feel appreciated and beautiful, so it’s a substantial part of us- whether it’s within ourselves, whether it involves a partner, our friends, or whatever part of our lives it affects!

Follow LD online:
An ode to body Image by LD Henriquez
http://www.facebook.com/HenriquezLD LDPoetess
VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/47219868
Audio: http://soundcloud.com/ldhenriquez/ld-henriquez-got-body