We're proud of our birthmarks.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00 Going through life with a facial difference can be difficult.
00:04 In the beginning it was very hard, people calling her names and saying she was ugly.
00:11 But, realizing there is beauty in difference can also be empowering and transformative.
00:23 Learning to love my birthmark took quite a while.
00:27 I definitely through social media was able to learn that and see these other strong women and realize if they can do it, I can do it.
00:39 Here are three remarkable examples that beauty and birthmarks come in all colors, sizes and shapes.
00:50 When Luna was born, Carolina was devastated once she realized the stain on her daughter's face was a giant birthmark.
00:58 She was born with the giant nipples, like the birthmark and that can become a melanoma, like a bad cancer.
01:08 Actually she already had three nipples on her body that was cancer.
01:12 We found out the nipples when she was born.
01:15 We were in shock because we didn't know about it.
01:18 I didn't want to meet Luna after the labor. I was kind of, I don't know, depressed.
01:23 However, her husband was over the moon about Luna's birth and the couple were able to overcome any obstacles together.
01:32 One day we went to church with her and we faced a very bad bullying situation.
01:40 An old lady called her a monster.
01:43 She was like, I think, two months old and we decided that day at the church to take out the nipples.
01:50 And we needed to get the money to pay for the surgeries.
01:54 We started to do a lot of events, campaigns, GoFundMe all over Brazil and the U.S.
02:03 Somebody made the doll and sent it to us as a gift.
02:07 So we had an idea to call the girl that made it and start making the dolls to sell to people.
02:17 We went to Russia. We were there for six months.
02:20 They did her forehead, her nose, the eyelid and a little bit under her eyes.
02:27 Now Luna is kind of famous because people came, "Oh, this is Luna. Can I take a picture of her?
02:33 Oh, she's so beautiful, this and that."
02:35 She's a sweet kid. You don't have to complain about her.
02:38 She's everything to us. She's the foundation of the family.
02:42 Luna's condition, like for now that she's going through surgeries, she can't deal with the sunlight.
02:51 But I mean, she's going to have a normal life as soon as possible.
02:55 She looks in the mirror all the time. She plays with her hair.
02:59 She wants to put makeup on.
03:01 But I don't think she realizes that she has something.
03:05 She's active. You can see. She can't stop.
03:08 She's super happy. A super happy girl. All the time playing, dancing.
03:14 Beatriz, who is also from Brazil, has multiple birthmarks spread across her body.
03:27 And from just six months old, Beatriz underwent multiple operations
03:33 to remove as many of her birthmarks as possible.
03:38 And from just six months old, Beatriz underwent multiple operations
03:44 to remove as many of her birthmarks as possible.
03:48 And in spite of the haters, Beatriz has found love.
03:53 Hi! How are you?
03:55 And in spite of the haters, Beatriz has found love.
04:14 She's very beautiful.
04:16 I even told her that if she didn't have these birthmarks, I wouldn't date her.
04:20 I wouldn't even look at her. I think it was what attracted me, actually.
04:24 There are the paintings that I like the most, of course.
04:27 Like the Queen painting, which is a painting of the Queen.
04:31 She is now even an inspiration to young people.
04:35 In my Instagram and Facebook profile, many people came to me to ask for help, for advice.
04:42 Beatriz is an inspiration.
04:45 Come here, give me a kiss.
04:48 I always say that it's good for young people to expose themselves for this very reason, to help other children.
04:55 My birthmark is really cool. I like it a lot. I accept myself well like this.
05:02 And I certainly wouldn't be this person if I had normal skin.
05:10 Kasey also decided to be the representation she lacked growing up.
05:17 I have a port wine stain birthmark and it covers most of the left side of my face.
05:24 Port wine stains are a malformation of the capillaries.
05:29 My lip, it's a vascular malformation.
05:33 As far as I know, it's a vein that goes behind my lip.
05:36 I was insecure about it, especially high school.
05:39 Learning to love my birthmark took quite a while.
05:43 I definitely struggled to meet people.
05:46 Once they saw my picture, they would just not want to date me.
05:51 My husband and I met on an app.
05:54 Something about it, we just started talking, hit it off.
05:58 Maybe three weeks after we started talking, when, you know, the whole, "Can I at least see your face to get to know what you look like?"
06:08 And she was very hesitant.
06:11 When I saw her, it was just the smile that immediately came to her face and it was a powerful moment.
06:21 Six months after that, we were engaged.
06:24 I definitely through social media was able to see these other strong women and realize if they can do it, I can do it.
06:35 I want to show people that birthmarks are a normal thing.
06:40 I have to realize that I won't be able to shield myself from the world.
06:47 People are going to stare and I have gotten over it.
06:51 I have learned to love my birthmark.
06:54 When I look at my reflection in the mirror, I see a beautiful, confident woman who can take on the world.
07:04 So there you go, three inspiring stories of people who have accepted, embraced and shared their differences.
07:13 We have two trans kids.
07:21 Anyone can be whoever they want.
07:23 I'm just owning it.
07:25 Our family is seen to be very unconventional.
07:30 So I had kids and I can't be hot anymore, like moms are hot too.
07:34 People say I look like a thug, but I love thugs. I take that as a compliment.
07:38 I'm bored of people thinking that I cannot be intimate.
07:42 I'm a young, single, hot piece of disabled booty.
07:45 I feel like I'm going to look at myself and be like, "Who is that?"
07:50 Life is way too short to be hiding.
07:56 It is my story. It is my truth.
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