the0dream0diaries:

soprettyohsopretty:

So I just read this completely awful article in The Daily Mail, linked above (I know the Mail is the cesspit of Satan and I really deserved to be outraged if I was reading it. It often contains unintentional comedy gold). Essentially Julie Burchill believes that:

a) most women aren’t pretty

b) it’s wrong to tell little girls that they are pretty when they aren’t

c) “pretty culture” reduces STRONG WOMEN to simpering little girls

d) prettiness occupies a very narrow band

e) we should stop using beauty to qualify women (I agree on this; more in a minute)

and most objectionable: f) If you feel upset and ugly when faced by this world of falsely enhanced beauty, you do not deserve to feel confident.

Ooookay.

What first shot into my mind when I read this was: Julie Burchill, you ARE pretty. Burchill might not agree with me; she might feel I was devaluing her article based on her looks. I’m not. But what she’s saying is ugly - so very ugly.

Firstly, there is the oh-so-very narrow definition of beauty we have nowadays. Don’t look like an advertisement for Lancome? Well, fuck you then, you’ll never be good enough. This simply isn’t true. Beauty occupies a very broad band - and this is because beauty is so very subjective. And beauty isn’t based on looks.

Beauty is what we find attractive. This is an individual thing, and everyone thinks it. We look for beauty in everything - in architecture, in landscapes, in clothing, in art. The things we find beautiful are the things we are attracted to. The same goes for people. But I object to the idea that beauty - real, true beauty - is purely physical. It isn’t. The people we love are beautiful to us. And it isn’t because they could appear in an advertisement for Timotei. It’s because they are kind. Because they listen. Because they make us laugh so hard our ribcages hurt and we snort lemonade up our noses. Because they know they can get away with insulting you because you’ll come right back at them. Because there’s just something about them. And once you love them for this, you do love the way they look. Their brown eyes or their slightly lopsided smirk. That’s what prettiness is. It moves you and affects you. And how dare anyone say that the majority of people aren’t beautiful.

Let’s step out of the world of advertising and movies and into the real world, the world we live in. In this world - and this really is as simple as I’m writing it here - no one is perfect and no one is hideous. That’s it. That’s simply it. And here’s another fact: I have never met, seen or known anyone I consider ugly. Never. I’ve met people whom I’ve disliked, certainly, but this was absolutely, 100 per cent based on their attitude. I have never EVER disliked anyone on sight because of their looks. I don’t think anyone does.Beauty is NOT “specific, rare and fleeting”. It is wide and complex, subjective and universal. And everyone has it - even if it’s just a little drop.

Burchill argues that we value women through their beauty. This is certainly true, especially in today’s world of Hollywood, media andadvertising. But the solution is not to dismiss beauty. The solution is to widen the depiction of beauty in mainstream media. I hope we’re breaking through. Progress is being made, in a way. You remember Hairspray from 2007? Nikki Blonsky in the lead role was beautiful - adorable, beautiful smile, good dancer, GREAT singer. And let’s face it - she was fat. Didn’t stop her from sparkling. And I haven’t seen Glee, but from what I’ve read about it, I know it does tackle the “conventional beauty” ideal. We have a long way to go, I know - black, Asian and Middle Eastern women are still horrifically under-represented in the conventional idea of beauty (for some reason, very dark skin doesn’t seem to fly with advertisers and Hollywood executives). But I remain optimistic. We’re heading towards a beautiful future.

Now, I’m going to tell you a little secret: I think I’m pretty on the outside and I think my body is perfect. There you go. “Vain bitch”, you might be thinking. I’m not at all vain! I know I’m not an advert for Chanel, but I also know I don’t have to walk around with a paper bag on my head. Why do I think my body is perfect? Because I’m healthy enough. My skin is okay, I’m rarely ill. And that’s fine. As for being pretty - well, what’s wrong with thinking that? Some people seem borderline offended at the idea that someone else could think themselves to be pretty. I’m not devaluing you by thinking that. Most of my hang-ups are mental, not physical, because I think I look fine and I know people will like me for my mind and not my looks, at the end of the day.

This brings me on to my next point, another simple little fact: YOU are pretty. I mean it. You are SO pretty. Christina Aguilera was right; much as I hate the song, “You are beautiful, no matter what they say.” And if anyone else tells you otherwise: really, actually, fuck them. Ask yourself: what kind of person goes around telling other people they are ugly? Roll your eyes and ignore them. Because you aren’t ugly. Really. You aren’t. You’re pretty. And there will always be at least one person (almost always more!) who knows just how pretty you are. But what’s more important is you realising you are pretty. Hopefully you already knew all that. But just in case you didn’t. :)

I will finish by tackling my favourite paragraph of the article:

‘I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls,’ said adorable Audrey Hepburn — she of the bulimia and cheating husbands. The fact is that the possession of beauty is no automatic guarantor of happiness, any more than intelligence or sporting proficiency. It has been said that beauty is a passport — but it’s not, it’s a visa, and sooner or later it will run out.

Way to not understand the magnificent Audrey Hepburn! Hepburn meant, of course, that “happiness is beauty”, NOT “beauty is happiness”. Anyone who likes to read things properly can pick that up. And a cheap shot at Hepburn’s personal problems doesn’t change that. Happiness is, of course, a whole different article. But I like to think happiness is the key to complete and pure beauty. I think happiness is what we ought to sell in place of the unachievable, aethereal beauty of photoshopped adverts.
And Burchill: you are wrong on one more county. Beauty isn’t a visa. True beauty lasts a lifetime. :)
I think you’re all beautiful. Night-night for now. <3

I still stand by this <3

why can’t I reblog my own posts :(