By Rori-TAI Williams
After revealing and accepting my physical insecurities, I have been challenged to help others do the same. This new series reflects others’ insecurities and a sense of acceptance they are willing to share. Contrary to the “My insecurities,” the compositions in these images focus primarily on the physical insecurity of the subject(s) and less on the construction of various textures, shapes and forms.
My mom, aka Ms. V., is one of the strongest women I know. She’s honest, caring, witty and confident to say the least. When I asked her if she was ever insecure about the two large skin moles on her cheek, she boldly said, “No! Most of the time I forget they are even there until someone mentions them.”
As a young child, I remember asking her if they hurt her face and if she ever planned on having them removed. She replied, “Well, no they don’t bother me and they aren’t cancerous, so why would I do that? Besides that they are called ‘beauty moles.'” I think this was the moment when I realized that some flaws are are really flawless.
I wanted to photograph my mother’s “beauty moles” because I have always thought that they were insecurities she had accepted over the years, and just never mentioned it. After this photo shoot, I knew I was wrong.
I listened as she told me about a time before I was born when she had a group of 17 moles surgically removed from her neck and collar bone only because they caused constant pain and discomfort, not because she was insecure about them. Now, over 30 years later, moles similar to those she had removed are slowly growing along her neck and collar bone — although without the pain and discomfort. She does not regret her decision to have them removed in the 1970s, but she has no intentions of having them removed again.