Did you ever hear this silent voice in your head telling you your boobs should be perkier, your butt rounder, your tummy more flat, your lips fuller etc. ? If you know this voice then read on & take a close look at the following women who survived breast cancer. You will look at your own body in a new way. In a world where physical beauty is usually entitled to a perfect body with perky books & small nipples these women stand like a light in the darkness guiding other women through the darkness of their insecurities and false perceptions of their perfect “imperfections”. I myself felt tiny compared to these women and the pain they went through. I felt bad about any judgmental thought I had sent to my body about my boobs not being as perky anymore or my tummy not as even as before my pregnancy. I want to be even more grateful for each and every bit of my body. I have no excuses. I am perfect. And my imperfections make me even more beautiful. David Jay is a renowned photographer. His models usually looked like perfect. Three years ago one of his best friends got diagnosed with breast cancer.
She was only 29 years old. Jay closely experienced the fight & victory of his friend over the cancer. It must have changed him in many ways. To this day he has photographed more then 100 young women and survivors of breast cancer gone through hell and back. His project “SCAR” (Survivor Cancer) pictures the difficulty of this fight and the scars – emotionally & physically – left behind. It is an ever touching project and almost feels as if the women in the pictures are talking to me; telling their stories of pain, victory, pain, victory.. and strength. Look the women in these pictures in their eyes. Look deeper. See the beauty, not just the pain. In an interview David Jay got asked about the biggest thing he learned from shooting these women. Please Beautiful, read his answer & feel the words: “For one, the things that can seem unbearable, that seem like the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to you, can absolutely be the best thing that has ever happened to you—if you allow it to be. But also, we as humans tend to procrastinate doing the things we need to do in life. We put things off, look the other way, surrender to our insecurity and fears. But Mother Nature will always have her way with us—forcing our hand, forcing us to live up to our own true potential. You can choose to live up to it, or you can die mired in it. This I know for sure, both from my own life and from photographing these women.” ( © Adina Rivers from www.mytinysecrets.com )
Note: David Jay has been shooting fashion and beauty professionally for over 15 years. His images have appeared in a multitude of international magazines and advertising campaigns. Like so many others personally touched by the disease, Jay was inspired to act when a dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. Like the subjects themselves, Jay’s stark, bold portraits challenge traditional perceptions of the disease and capture the raw beauty, strength and character of so many extraordinary young women. Each portrait represents a singular, stripped-down vision of the life-changing journey that unites them all. David Jay’s fashion work can be viewed at www.davidjayphotography.com
