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ST. GEORGE — Standing on stage at the TEDxSt.George event earlier this year, Lucy Higgins courageously gave a moving speech about how pop culture's portrayal of what a woman should be can feel unreachable to young girls like herself.
Dressed similarly to the World War II icon Rosie the Riveter, the 16-year-old Utahn stood confidently in front of the audience with blonde curls, red lipstick and high heels. She then proceeded to explain that, at its core, pop culture's view of women is centered on image and "it is about an unachievable look of perfection."
A couple of minutes into her speech, Higgins surprises the audience by removing the wig she is wearing, revealing what the audience didn't initially know was "under the surface" and proving her point that social media has a false ideation of what women should look like.
When she was just 5 years old, Higgins' hair began falling out in chunks. Following tests at Primary Children's Hospital, Higgins was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. She told KSL.com that she also has Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid, and Ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and pain in the spinal joints.
Growing up, Higgins said her parents did a great job of treating her like any other kid and even made her hair loss fun in some ways. But when she got older, she realized her reflection in the mirror didn't look like the standard of beauty the world sets. She knows other young girls who feel they don't measure up to pop culture's perfect standards and wanted to give the TED Talk for them.
"I definitely think social media can have a good impact, but I think when it comes to their image of women, it's very unrealistic and it's something that I feel like can be forced upon young girls," Higgins said. "And it's not very fair for them to be asked to achieve something that isn't realistic, or maybe not desirable for them personally or even healthy."
In her TED talk, Higgins pointed out that during the Second World War, the saying for women was, "We can do it," while today, it's more like, "Look at me, I'm 'insta' perfect." She encouraged the audience to change this — for the current generation and the next.
Higgins told KSL.com she believes individuals can make a difference by being "real" and by teaching young girls they are beautiful just how they are, instead of encouraging them to meet the current social media standard. She also thinks it would be beneficial for people not to post such "perfect" photos on social media.
Standing in front of the audience, Higgins was terrified to take off her wig and said it was a very emotional moment for her.
"But as soon as I had removed my wig, I got an overwhelming feeling of love and support that is almost, honestly, indescribable how much love and support I've gotten from all ages, from so many people who have reached out to me personally and been like, 'Hey, I have a trial as well, and it's been a beautiful impact on me for you being willing to share your trial,'" Higgins said.
It hasn't been easy growing up without hair and feeling like she didn't always fit in, she said, but receiving the reaction of love and support from the audience was compelling for her and prompted her to wear her wig less and less going forward, she said.
What I think is beautiful is, I think it's what we are inside. ... We're not all perfect, because we've gone through hard things, and the hard things make us beautiful.
–Lucy Higgins, teen speaker at TEDxStGeorge
By taking off her wig in the speech, Higgins hoped to spread a message of accepting everyone for who they are. She said everyone is going through something, whether it's visible on their exterior or not, and she hopes people can spread love and encouragement to each other, regardless.
The pop-culture definition of beauty is very toxic, Higgins said. It focuses on having a specific body type, like being tall and skinny and having long, luscious hair and perfect skin.
"But personally, to me, what I think is beautiful is I think it's what we are inside," Higgins said. "We're not all perfect, because we've gone through hard things, and the hard things make us beautiful."
Higgins believes women can become better at not judging each other by their appearance by first not judging themselves and comparing their own image to others. She also thinks women should be teaching young girls that life is not about outward appearance, but about getting to know people by who they are and what they've gone through.
You can watch Higgins' April 8 TEDxStGeorge talk in its entirety on the TEDx Talks YouTube channel.
