A Beautiful Photo-Series Of People Revealing Their Scars And The Stories Behind Them

scars

For long, society has dictated the terms of beauty and what is ‘desirable’. People, for ages now, have been forced to hide or fix their scars because they’re considered ugly. While women bear most of the brunt, every person, male or female, feels conscious talking about the stories behind them because it ain’t ‘pretty’.

But it’s time to change these perceptions and much more. And London-based photographer Sophie Mayenne wants to do exactly that with her powerful project ‘Behind The Scars.’ 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL1MN9tge26/?taken-by=sophiemayanne

Primarily meant as an editorial and shoot for a magazine, her initiative has now grown into a campaign celebrating people, their scars and the stories behind them.

She does it to help spread body-positivity, urging survivors to share their tale, shed inhibitions and inspire people to embrace their ‘imperfections.’ She told Independent

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL1N0kGA6ya/?taken-by=sophiemayanne

“I want people to be able to identify with the images, to see an array of different people and maybe think ‘I have imperfections too, but they make me who I am’.”

See more of her work here: 

1. Beautiful.

2. Her eyes are saying it all…

3. ‘I was diagnosed with cancer.’

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#behindthescars Abi “I was diagnosed with a rare and extremely aggressive form of cancer called Osteosarcoma when I was 27 years old. Doctor’s think that I had the tumour since I was 26. My right arm was aching whilst I was sleeping – everyone I would chop vegetables, and get dressed. I went to see a chiropractor – he moved my arm around and I screamed very loudly. He just said that I had damaged my muscle and said I was very dramatic. Unknown to him, what lay behind my “dramatic” scream was something quite sinister. I was living in South Africa, Cape Town and had recently received my visa to live there. I was working with ant-sex trafficking victims and supporting abused women and children. I had just started helping out at a support group, when one of the girls approached me and said “Hey, you don't know me very well, but I wanted to let you know that I’ve had 3 vivid dreams about you in a row now. In them you come to my house, and when I wake up I feel God’s presence, so I really feel that you need to come to my house.” I’m quite a spiritual person, and had dreams in my childhood that had come true, so I thought I'd go and see her. The day I went to her house she wasn’t actually in. as I was walking out of her courtyard, I had a sense that her dog was going to go for me. The dog looked chilled, so I just shut the gate and as I put my hand through the gate to lock it, I heart the dog bark, and jump up to bite m, so I gently jumped back and my arm completely snapped as I landed. My friend took me to the Doctors. I was sent for a scar and it showed that I had a very clean break. The Doctor’s face dropped when she saw my scan. she booked me in to see another Doctor the next morning. I was in so much pain I didn’t really question why I was seeing another Doctor. When I saw him the following morning he asked me a lot of the typical cancer questions – Have you lost weight, have you passed blood, and so on. He said something had been eroding my bone- my heart was pounding thinking of all the things it could possibly be. He then said those dreaded words that literally took my breath away – you most probably have cancer. Continued in comments

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4. Breaking barriers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPGI1u9A_6P/?taken-by=sophiemayanne

5. For it starts with loving yourself…

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#behindthescars Yasmin “My tumour changed my life in so many ways. A life changing operation to remove the tumour, the size of a grapefruit gave me self acceptance on a level that was truly unconditional. In 2012 I was diagnosed with non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Cancer wasn’t an issue, what was was the discovery of a huge tumour. It was benign, but sizeable. Attached to my liver, a bunch of nerves and my main artery to my leg. Five hours of surgery, a deflated hung, my diaphragm put on halt, a bypass with my insides out on a table. My fear going into surgery was the long term affects and how my body would recover. Will my boyfriend still love me, will he still find me attractive, will any man find me acceptable to look at? The truth was, it taught me to love myself hard, without compromise. Inside and out, there was a journey of total acceptance. My amazing body had not failed me yet, so who was I to not love it back for keeping me alive? The message is simple – we are provided with a beautiful vessel to carry our soul. It works so hard to support us daily – the love I have for my body is insurmountable. It allows me to be my glorious self – I am a very lucky girl.” @missyasminibrahim

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6. Braving it with smiles and mirth.

7. We all need help. One way or the other.

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#behindthescars Chloe “I started self harming when I was 13 and have struggled with it ever since. The issue with self harming is it gets progressively worse and you end up doing more and more damage to yourself than you think is possible when you first start. It truly is an addiction and you get to a point where surgeons tell you that plastic surgery can’t fix the appearance of the scars, so the only thing you can do is love your scars so much that all the negative connections that come along with self harm slowly disappear – along with all the pain attached to the scars. My scars tell my story, and I’m never going to let anyone else’s thoughts or opinions change that. “ @_chl.o shot on Huawei P10 @huaweimobileuk for @dazed #RevealTheRealYou

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8. Do you see his courage in his eyes? You’re not the only one.

9. Once you know how to embrace them, nothing is more liberating.

10. Wear your scars proudly!

11. Brave and bold.

12. Be your own saviour.

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#behindthescars Deepshikha “I did not see myself before my scar – I have had it for as long as I can remember. I was 4 months old when I had a surgery to remove one of my spare kidneys. Yes, I was born with an extra one which was making me very ill. My mum says my scar was very tiny after they operated – probably because I was tiny over all. As I grew, my scar grew with me – and so did my discomfort and embarrassment over it. It’s very much a personal journey, but I am fortunate to have support from special people. It’s taken me 34 years to come to terms with it – I haven’t got to the point where I can confidently wear a saree, or a two piece bikini without a care in the world, but hopefully – one day – I will get there soon!" @deepshikhabaisya

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13. And you won’t believe the wonders it can work.

14. She has seen it all, yet comes out smelling like roses.

15. You can be everything you wish for and let no one tell you otherwise.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPVlcYFg53q/?taken-by=sophiemayanne

If this isn’t empowering, I don’t know what is. More power to the bravehearts who shared stepped out of their shell and props to the photographer who is trying to do her bit, one picture at a time!

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