People often say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder.

— Salma Hayek

Let’s talk about beauty. It is a tricky concept, no? It’s a dynamic idea that morphs from place to place and era to era. But that is what makes it so intriguing. To operationalize something basically means to define something that is tricky by describing the characteristics of said thing. Which is just what we are doing here at OperationalizeBeauty.

To call someone (including yourself) beautiful you must first have an understanding of what beauty is. That’s what we are here for! In a world of labels, I want to encourage a new dialogue. I want to empower women and girls to define beauty for themselves, to question the labels put on them by others, and to lift each other up in love and solidarity. To do that, I will post stories of truly beautiful women (and girls), various definitions of beauty, and maybe some thoughts on important social issues. My ultimate goal is to create a community of women who see beautiful traits in others, and are able to recognize those same traits in themselves. I want to connect with women who are about building their sisters up, not competing with them.

My goal for you is to start your own dialogue–think about what beauty means to you. Cultivate your own beauty. Beauty no one can bestow upon you nor take away from you. Send us your own definition (if you want, no pressure). Then go forth and kick some beautiful butt!

You got this, girl.