Kylie Bisutti introduces the world to an intimate view of the modeling industry with her recent book, “I am No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model.” This book is one that every teenage girl should explore because Kylie reveals a truth about their exquisite beauty in a way that the Spirit of God radiates off the pages.
Kylie didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but her journey brought her to Christ, and she has then had the opportunity to introduce Jesus to her family – a true testament of God’s power in her life. As a girl, Kylie heard over and over that she should become a model, so it didn’t take long before she had the ultimate dream of becoming a Victoria Secret model. At the age of 19, her dream came true when she walked down the runway of the Victoria Secret Fashion Show.
During the peak of her career, Kylie became overwhelmed with insecurity in herself and her beauty. A woman, who on the outside, appears to have it all was torn inside with the feeling of inadequacy. “I became so focused on all those outer things, like working out at up to two hours a day, wearing fake hair extensions, the eyelashes, make up all the time. I was so focused on trying to change myself and do things the world and our society say you need to do to be considered beautiful. The more I focused on those things; I found that I was constantly thinking about those things,” says Kylie Bisutti. “I felt insecure if I didn’t have a spray tan, insecure if I didn’t have hair extensions in, the make up on and over time I just became so completely insecure, because I was focused on things that were all about changing me, changing who God created me to be.”
During her career, God revealed to Kylie that unless she saw her true beauty, she would never be satisfied with who she was and how she appeared to others. “I wasn’t seeing myself the way that He made me. I wasn’t seeing that I’m good enough the way that I was. I was constantly trying to change myself. And when we do that it really creates a lot of insecurities because we’re not ourselves anymore. The less I started focusing on those things and started focusing on God and how He views me, the more self-confident I became.”
The modeling world is all an illusion. Kylie saw first hand how every image was manipulated. Now that she’s left the industry, Kylie desires to shed light on the truth. She’s experienced first hand how each image presented in the media has a negative effect on the self-worth of women. “This is something I’m so passionate about now because I’ve seen the way the images in magazines have affected my own life. God just used that to show me how much this is affecting every other woman in the world, because I know I use to look at images in magazines and realize I wasn’t good enough.” Even as a model herself, someone in front of the camera, Kylie realized she couldn’t even live up to societies standards of beauty, “I didn’t live up to the standard of beauty the world tells us. So, none of us can ever live up to that standard, especially since all the images that we’re seeing are so photo shopped that they are an absolute illusion. Once I got into the really high profile modeling it got even worse – they photo shop to the point where I would look at images of myself, I couldn’t even live up to those images because it was so transformed that it wasn’t even real; it wasn’t even really me. They really just do whatever they want to create the image that they want for the standard of beauty at the time. The images aren’t even real. There’s no way anybody can even live up to it. Models can’t even live up to it. I couldn’t live up to my own images.”
“I’m hoping girls will start seeing that this is an illusion that I believe the devil is using to bring them into destruction and temptation and bring them away from Christ and make them insecure. We should be looking to see ourselves the way Christ does. He finds beauty in our hearts rather than our outer appearances,” says Kylie when discussing how true beauty lies within each one of us and that we shouldn’t have to live up to the pressures of the images we see. “When we aren’t seeing ourselves the way Christ sees us, then we’re really going to be off track. Christ loves us unconditionally and finds value in us and if we don’t see ourselves the way He sees us, then we’re really not seeing ourselves as His perfect creations.”
Seeing ourselves as God’s creation isn’t just about seeing our internal beauty and worth, but it is also about loving ourselves and knowing that we are worthy of great love. Kylie explains, “So many teenagers don’t love themselves. They beat themselves up over who they are, things they’ve done, but God made us this way for a reason – to glorify Him. I’ve just learned so much from seeing myself through His eyes. He made me this way so I should be thankful for the way that I am.”
So, how do we truly see our beautiful nature? Kylie gives four suggestions:
Forgive Yourself
“Guilt really does come from the devil and if you’re beating yourself up for things you’ve done, God doesn’t do that, He forgives us and loves us unconditionally, and so that’s what we need to do,” exclaims Kylie.
Take Care of Yourself
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of yourself and feel pretty. It’s funny because when I talk about modesty, a lot of people think that means you aren’t suppose to wear make up, or fix your hair, or wear clothes that make you look nicer and fit your body nicely,” says Kylie. “I believe that looking your best makes you feel better about yourself. I’m a lot happier when I’m taking care of my skin and taking care of my body. That helps me to be able to share Christ with people because when you are happy, you want to share things with people,” Kylie continues.
Surround Yourself with Like-Minded People
“Getting around a group of girls that are maybe stronger in that area so that you can really be influenced by that type of person. You are who you hang out with, so surrounding yourself with the right types of people will definitely help. Now in my life, I really look to Christ to fulfill me and I find I’m way more fulfilled now, than when I was searching for attention from other guys, because that never leads to satisfaction and fulfillment, it actually leads to more insecurity,” proclaims Kylie.
Read God’s Word and Get to Know Him
“Supplementing your desire for attention with Christ and reading the Bible, God can definitely help you through your struggles if you just ask Him and focus on Him,” Kylie states.
Kylie wants to hear from you. She wants to hear about your struggles and successes in discovering your God-given beauty. Email her at IAmNoAngel.org. And pick up a copy of her book, “I Am No Angel.”
Pick up a copy of her book and check out her new clothing line God Inspired Fashion.
