A 26-year-old Minneapolis woman living with a rare skin condition is breaking into the modeling world — and challenging tradition beauty standards while she’s at it.
When Sara Geurts was 10 years old, she was diagnosed with Dermatosparaxis Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) — a genetic condition that caused her skin to prematurely wrinkle.
The disorder causes Geurts’ skin to sag, as well as causing dislocated joints, fragile skin and numerous other health issues, she wrote in a blog post.
She said there are only around eight people worldwide who have this specific genetic disease. There is no known cure for the condition.
“I wasn’t always accepting of my disorder and the imperfections that came with it, but within the past year or so I accepted my disorder and learned to love myself and my body,” she said.
“I chose to pursue modeling and photography with my disorder in an effort to raise awareness for Ehlers-Danlos.”
She said by being more public with her condition, she hopes to lessen the struggle of others “on the road to self-love” and break down society’s “unrealistic barriers of perfection.”
Guerts is now the face of the Love Your Lines campaign, which “praises women’s imperfections.” The #LoveYourLines hashtag is used by posters showing off their own marks on Instagram, Tumblr and elsewhere across social media.
Comments