-Misery Loves Company-

Current music: Beautiful Girl (Taking Back Sunday)

Current mood : Indifferent

      So the other day I read an article in The Star newspaper about how beautiful people have an advantage over the not-so-beautiful. Although the article tried to balance both sides of the arguments and convince us that it’s the inside that matters, I beg to differ.

      Being beautiful is undoubtedly a major advantage. Kick and scream and bite from the injustice of it all if you want but it’s the cold hard truth. If you are beautiful, you are immediately on a higher level of the human social hierarchy. Sure, if you are smart, funny and easy-going, then you’ve pretty much got the world in your slim hands with tapered fingers and manicured nails. But even if you are a class-A bitch, people aren’t surprised. The common mentality is: you’re beautiful so you have a right to be a snob.

     When you’re beautiful, doors open for you that slam shut in other people’s faces. You can be a model/beauty-queen/host/actress/singer/dancer or an aeronautical engineer if you want and try hard enough. If you are not beautiful, then no matter how hard you try, it would be very difficult to do something you want to. Say, you’re deemed not attractive enough to be a model. Your choice is limited when you’re not beautiful. Thirst for knowledge can be cultivated but beauty is something you’re born with.

     If you are born unattractive, there’s little you can do to be beautiful. Plastic surgery is an option but that’s drastic and you’ll end up looking…well, plastic. Natural beauty doesn’t come across as fake and people who are naturally beautiful do not exude the desperation that used-to-be-ugly-until-doctor-nip-and-tuck-came-along people do.

      Ask anyone whether they’d rather be ugly or beautiful. If anyone said they’d rather be ugly, either they are trying to be funny or they are so convinced that their beauty is to blame for every single depressing self-absorbed problem they have had. When you’re beautiful, people notice you and pay more attention to what you have to say. Your ideas carry more weight than a girl who weighs twice as much.

      That being said, I want to clarify that this is my opinion: Beauty really is an advantage, no matter how much anyone tries to deny it. But if there is no personality to complement your beauty then when your looks fade, so will everything else. Also, beauty takes hard work most of the time. If you’re scoffing and thinking, "Hah, I’m beautiful but I don’t exercise and I don’t diet and I wash my face with soap and water", then congratulations, you’re one of the few lucky ones. Maybe 20 years down the line, your sagging skin and posterior will wake you up to the fact that beauty doesn’t last a lifetime.

      To the naturally unbeautiful, all hope is not lost. Most beautiful people are born with it. Don’t blame your parents, don’t blame God and don’t cry yourself to sleep. You can work at it. I don’t guarantee that slaving at the gym for 50 hours a week will make you more beautiful than a girl who eats all day long but has always remained a lithe pretty thing. But you will feel much better about yourself for trying. Look at it this way, you will never be the most beautiful person on earth because there will always be someone younger and prettier but you want to look your best right?

      Maybe it’s easier for beautiful people because they ooze confidence from every pore. It’s easier for them to be portrayed as fun and outgoing. But I think the core of the problem is not about other people not loving you. It’s about you not loving yourself. I know many outgoing people who aren’t good-looking. Yet, they are very attractive because people are drawn to their auras.

        So I guess what I’m trying to say is, yes, it’s unfair that beautiful people have an advantage. But I’m sure they have problems just like everyone else. I admit that people are generally more attracted to beautiful people. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Being beautiful will not change your life much. Being happy with yourself will.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 30th, 2005 at 1:42 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.