HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

At Serpentine Dermatology, we believe that beauty starts from deep within, and that women have much more to contribute than just what they look like.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 strives to bring more women to the table in order to create “an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence” — and we could think of no better woman to share what she thinks about inner beauty and equality than Wendy Fitzwilliam: Miss Universe 1998, mother, attorney, Carnival lover, and a staunch advocate for HIV/AIDS education and awareness.

We hope the story of her beloved grandmother inspires you…

I have always found beauty in the most complete women. My maternal grandmother, Thin Granny, was girlie, strong, fiercely independent and kind to everyone with whom she interacted. Thin Granny dressed meticulously every day in the beautiful dresses she made herself.

Whether in her garden, at Mass or on a sojourn in her 80s to a Caribbean island with her wing woman, Aunty Naomi, her attention to detail and her confidence manifested in everything she did: raising her two children, preparing a meal, caring for the children often neglected in her village of Tortuga, holding her ground in a T&T not particularly celebratory of an independent woman, making her own way. She created her own successful lane by building an army of like-minded women who provided support to each other to navigate an often hostile professional environment not ready her. She did so with kindness, steely determination and glamour.

Many of the women I admire have these qualities in spades. Sharon Imbert, Meiling, Audrey Hepburn, Oprah, Rihanna, Mia Mottley all share a quiet confidence, steely determination and an ability to forgive, be kind and build up the people around them in ways big and small...like Thin Granny.

It is through our example of being the best version of ourselves, truly supporting each other as women and confidently occupying our spaces that we will achieve equality. As we celebrate International Women’s Day this month, let us joyfully, confidently support and celebrate each other.