Blog 092514

Conventionally, beauty is a skinny girl with a big smile and plump lips, with smooth hair and a happy laugh when people push her around. American culture’s definition of beauty is one of the most harmful things i think i could imagine. It pushes that you can’t be too skinny or you’re anorexic, but you can’t be fat because then you’re obese. It pushes that if you’re black your skin needs to be lightened (if you don’t believe that one, look at some magazine covers before and after editing) and if you’re pale you need to be tanned. It pushes that if you wear too much clothing you’re prude but if you wear too little you’re a slut. American beauty is unachievable but it is expected of every woman and their worth is based on it.

Thinking about American beauty in its problematic nature has never been a hard question for me, likely because i have not been as subjected to it, as I am not a girl. I am not a boy either, but they probably get to think of it less than I do. Being a boy means you can ignore those things until you benefit. It means that they don’t think of beauty as something they must achieve but as something they are entitled to acquire. Women are led to believe that they must be beautiful to be loved.

My definition of beauty is less appearance-based (which sounds extremely fake, but it’s true). My definition of beauty is someone you can talk to and enjoy your time with, someone who makes you happy and seems happy. Someone who looks beautiful looks healthy and comfortable. I don’t know that I would consider myself beautiful, but maybe I’m getting there.

American beauty isn’t important. American beauty will never be important. It’s important that we get rid of American beauty.

The individuals’ opinion of beauty is very important, but its very important that we keep these achievable as well. This is not for others’ benefit of being percieved as beautiful. This is for their own benefit to see others as beautiful. To not see others as something to judge. Seeing beauty around you can make you really happy and not judging everyone who walks by can really take a weight off your shoulders. I’m trying my hardest to do this for my own happiness, and honestly I have already noticed a change in my attitude. When you let yourself percieve beauty as someone who is happy and not seeing someone unhappy as ugly, you’re just happier, you’re more upbeat, and you might seem more beautiful to others.

Creative Writing: Rachel's Voice

The model lady, Cameron Russel, talked about how being pretty means being white and skinny. Winning a genetic lottery. I think I won at least one genetic lottery, because I have blue eyes and good hair. She seemed to get it, she talked about how she was "priveleged" and it felt weird to be looking into all this stuff and talking about it. I think it was nice.

((sorry that was really short but she doesn't actually talk extensively about outside subjects in the book))

Related quote:

"But people look at me differently. I don't look just different or scary or undefineable: I look pretty. That pretty is what was Mor's: my eyes, now my straight hair. People act different around me too." (Page 97)

Final reflection:

I believe I was right in what I said before, but I didn't talk enough about certain parts. I didn't stress enough how conventional beauty is whiteness. Conventional beauty is straight hair and lighter skin and a voice people think is soft. Conventional beauty is just as white as you can get. I probably should have been thinking more about race when I wrote this, but I am priveleged enough that my first thought wouldn't be race, it would be something else, because being white means being able to ignore race because you're on top.