This guy makes a great point. I *HATE* the idea that “everybody is beautiful.” It’s disingenuous. I’m not sure I’m 100% with him, but I do think he opens an interesting discussion.
Part of it is I don’t like the insinuation that the media “creates” beauty. Not only is it a gross simplification, but it just stinks of sour grapes. The writer here is right, we don’t say “everyone is athletic to someone.” I always like to compare it to intelligence. Everyone has a brain. And on an individual level, different people’s intelligence appeals to us differently. Everyone can work on improving their brain, but to say that some people aren’t just substantively more intelligent than others just sounds ridiculous.
Does that mean you can’t feel pretty or happy with yourself if you aren’t the most beautiful? No, of course not. I’m not the world’s greatest basketball player either, but I try my best and I love it when I win. And if you don’t want to play basketball? Well, fine. No one is forcing you.
But the Dove ads REALLY bother me. Yes, theses are attractive women, but they’re completely disingenuous. Two reasons. Yes, they’re all attractive women. Yes, they do differ in size and skin color. NO you can’t look like this. Even the heaviest of these women has great skin. All of them have very symmetric features. No one is scarred, or deformed. Plus sized models are models for a reason. And buying Dove soap will not turn you into one. (Which is what the ad is REALLY trying to do).
So no, not everyone is beautiful or smart. And yes, the media does pray on our insecurities about beauty, but no, it doesn’t create them. Why does art school exist? And design school? And fashion school and beauty school. Because aesthetically some things look better than others. Does that mean they ARE better, no… but they look better.
And pretending they don’t is not empowering. It’s diminishing.
Every two or three days, I see an article or blog post or forwarded inspirational quote about beauty. It’s usually something affirming like “You are beautiful, whether you know it or not.” “We are …
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