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Ugly-Pretty Face: Are We Truly Experiencing A Cultural "Ugly Moment?"
New York, 4:03 AM
Wed Nov 11
68 posts in the last 24 hours
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Ugly-Pretty Face: Are We Truly Experiencing A Cultural "Ugly Moment?" |
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How anyone could celebrate "Ugly Betty" as some kind of breakthrough is beyond me. The ultimate message is that it's OK to play ugly as long as you clean up real good -- actually being ugly is unthinkable and would ruin your life.
The same thing happens on Jezebel sometimes with those photo spreads of the commenters. Although it's funny and/or touching to see the awkward pictures from childhood and adolescence, the implicit moral of the story is that everyone's grown up now and they're cute.
There will always be distinctions drawn based on attractiveness. But the definition of beauty should be more inclusive and the consequences of not being good looking should not be so high and it should not focused so harshly on women.
The day that a girl or woman can't be made to feel like worthless garbage because she doesn't happen to be cute and, like a guy, can make up for it with her achievements (which won't be influenced by her attractiveness) will be a very good day.
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I feel like I would've fit in great in the Victorian era, as I'm pale with soft features and big boobs.
10/30/08
It was then that I decided to be funny. I decided to be smart and interesting and cultivate any interesting talent or hobby I could get my hands on.
I don't think I'm unattractive now, but I'm definitely not a sylphlike blonde with 20/20 vision. My looks have never done anything for me. My jokes and my ability to play a glockenspiel and my ability to make stupid LOLcat political cartoons? I won't blow my own horn, but over the years I've figured out what works. Those are the things, I find, that attract people.
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You know, in Mexican culture, you get a nickname that's a physical descriptor, and it's acceptable. Like, you may be called "Gordo" because you're fat. And that's OK. It's not an insult. You'll hear "flaca" or "feo" or whatever. We should learn a thing or two.
OK, that's all I've got. I agree with everything you said, Sadie! My only asset is my flaming red hair. Everything else is kinda "meh."
10/30/08
My mom calls me corajes, roughly 'mood swings' in Spanish.
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But I've had guys (with a touch of hyperbole, perhaps, and/or infatuation) describe me like a damn Botticelli's Venus or something. I guess I would have been knockout-gorgeous in like, the 15th century.
In the 21st century, however, I am a hulking ungainly thing who can't find long enough inseams or big enough shoes. Or enough sunblock. Beauty standards are stupid.
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Nowadays, they tell me that it is unprofessional.
I also probably would have to have a fat belly, though. They liked men to have fat bellies in the old days.
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Let Mad Men rake in more awards, the designers will come to their senses.
10/30/08
It was nice to hear and he went on about how tired he was of the perma-blonde, perma-tan and perma-dumb girls everyone liked.
10/30/08
Is dumb the new smart?
Is red the new pink?
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I always took cue from my grandmother who told me that women usually don't need to tease their hair and be slathered in so much paint to look beautiful, hence I never wear make up beyond foundation some days and my hair rarely meets a brush (okay, sometimes I'm lazy).
10/30/08
We all just look different.
Though, I do tend to classify every girl that looks like Britney Spears as 'dull'. Seriously, we can't ALL be over-tan and blonde.
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Thats nothing compared to the number of ALL SHOWS AND MOVIES EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD starring the beautiful people.
Because we don't have a VP candidate right now that was chosen because of her looks.
yeah, times they are a changing alright.
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I think heroin chic is the closest we've come to celebrating ugliness.
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and thanks for caring. or something?
<3
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