[Madrid, November 3. Image via Getty]

Members of the Spanish Blind People's Organisation (ONCE) have breakfast accompanied by their guide dogs at a restaurant in Madrid, on November 3, 2009, to claim their right to acces restaurants, bars and hotels with their dogs. AFP PHOTO / DOMINIQUE FAGET (Photo credit should read DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

[Vincennes, September 27. Image via Getty]

TO GO WITH AFP STORY IN FRENCH - 'Aveugles : +j'attendais mon chien-guide comme le messie, il a changé ma vie+'- A girl pats a guide dog for blind people during a visit to the Paris Guide Dogs School on September 27, 2009 in Vincennes, outside Paris. AFP PHOTO LOIC VENANCE (Photo credit should read LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)

Shockingly, it seems one can find love without being able to see: Damon Rose, writing on the BBC website, explains that, wait for it - he and other visually impaired people can still be attracted to someone's voice and, yes, personality. Even more shocking, blind people are not lofty saints who are immune to the shallowness of the sighted - always seeing people's inner beauty a la Laura Dern in Mask - it would seven seem that blind people just might have a range of personalities, inclinations, and characters.

But Rose's article is illuninating in this regard: the fact that those who cannot see are just as susceptible to our looks-obsessed culture is a testament to its destructive power. Rose relates this telling anecdote about his school for the blind:

I particularly remember a new girl arriving. No one took much notice in her first few weeks... until one lad said they'd heard she was blonde...Of course, few of her admirers could see her crowning glory, or even knew that blonde was a kind of light yellowy brown, but because "blondes" are talked about as desirable, and dare I say thought more attractive than darker haired people, she became very popular.

He also relates a story in which a blind guy dumps a woman he really likes after his sighted brother describes her as "a right dog." Explains Rose, "So insecure was he about the world and what image and attractiveness meant, that he felt he had to get rid of someone who could reflect badly on him because he didn't know any better. And on this occasion, he deferred to his brother who can see, after all." Those who cannot see, after all, are not automatically granted some new values system - they are still forced to live in the same world, listen to the same barrage of Access Hollywood and E!News Daily - and our societal "standards" are not so complicated that they can't be explained. After all, one could argue that what we consider attractive doesn't have much to do with our instincts or natures at this point: we're societally conditioned, and that can be taught to anyone.

There's a tendency in our culture to portray the blind, as we do so many with differences, as saintly. Characters like Dern's, Jane Wyman in Douglas Sirk weepie Magnificent Obsession or Elizabeth Hartman in A Patch of Blue are all pure of heart and able to see the souls within - all the while being conveniently and conventionally beautiful themselves. Blind men, on the other hand (think Scent of a Woman or the melodramatic Pride of the Marines) are frequently furious and bitter, railing against their fate. In this regard, one hopes that Slovakian documentary Blind Love, which chronicles a group of blind and partially-sighted people finding love, will bring a range of perspectives. However, is there something inherently problematic about treating this group of people as an "other" who need to be observed and understood? Or will such portrayals serve to increase understanding and emphasize the 'we're all people' bottom line that Rose's article does so well?

Love At No Sight [BBC]

The Good:

Regal Cate Blanchett wears filmy ruffles with aplomb.

Aaaah! I love Bar Refaeli's dress. Fitted yet flowy, simple yet detailed. Check out the back:

Gorgeous.

Elsa Zylberstein shines in sunny yellow.

Love the color and the ruffles on Natalie Portman's little purple dress.

I hate it when I like something about Eva Longoria. But vivid Mediterranean blue on the red carpet is exactly right for the French Riviera. Ooh, Aishwarya Rai looks good too, even if her skirt is a wee wrinkly.

Lord, I love me some Faye Dunaway. Soft and glowing in rosy pink.

The Bad:

Hair pulled too tight and dress that looks too stiff make Devon Aoki resemble a mermaid out of water. With a scale disease.

Andrea Osvart's dress isn't exactly bad, but on the Cannes red carpet you're supposed to turn it up a notch.

It's hard to explain why Mischa Barton's gown doesn't feel right: Too heavy, too detailed, too dark? Not well-fitting enough?

Afef Jnifen is some kind of foxy model/actress. Love her hair, hate her dress. Huge sleeve or huge skirt. Not both.

Wow, Gillian Anderson! It's been so long! Great to see her. It would be even better to see her in a more flattering dress.

The Ugly:

Eleonara Abbagnata's dress appears to made of seaweed.

Julianne Moore is beautiful. And I appreciate a gown that takes risks, that dares to be different. I like when design is quirky and clever. But parrot feathers and fabric flowers and a detailed waist and sheer under sheer? Bad. In my opinion. I mean look!

A beautiful woman in an ugly dress.

[Images via Getty and Bauer-Griffin.]