Not Pretty Enough
I don’t understand it. Why is our society so obsessed with beauty? Why is the value of individuals based primarily upon appearance? I want to believe that all people are treated equally regardless of the way they look; however, it seems this standard of equality exists only in my idealistic little world. The reality is that beautiful women are treated differently than those who were less blessed in the genetic lottery. I don’t get it. The structure of your face is not something you can control — it’s the way you were born. All of our faults and differences make us unique, but our uniqueness isn’t celebrated by society. Instead, our unique differentiators are deemed as imperfections and ugliness.
China displayed a perfect example of this ridiculous beauty standard to the entire world last week. Just moments before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, officials determined that the 7 year old girl who was supposed to sing the Chinese national anthem, “Ode to the Motherland”, wasn’t good looking enough. Although her voice was beautiful, her chubby face and crooked baby teeth were deemed unacceptable, and she was not allowed to represent her country. Instead, a more attractive girl (a veteran of television ads) was trotted to center stage to lip sync while the less attractive girl sang behind the curtain.
When I read stories like this, it angers me. No wonder girls have self-esteem issues. They are held to an impossible standard and are judged “unworthy” if they don’t measure up. It doesn’t matter if they have a brilliant mind, a Grammy-winning voice, or a beautiful heart. All that matters is the outer appearance. It’s a shame.
Life shouldn’t be a professional beauty pageant. Women should be valued for their intellect and skills, not their attractiveness. We’ve come a long way since the “leave it to Beaver” days when women were just supposed to be pretty, bear children and keep the house clean. Yet we obviously have a long way to go until we are respected as intelligent human beings with skills and value beyond a pretty face.
