Saturday 10 March 2012

Beauty or the Beast


How different is the way we see ourselves from the way other people see us? Do we look prettier? Uglier? Or do people just not really notice anything at all? I always ask myself these questions when I look in the mirror or catch my reflection in a shop window and I always go with the most pessimistic.

I have awful self-image and very rarely feel pretty and if I do I'm always put down when I see someone dressed better or with nicer hair. This may be because I'm an adolescent and we are notoriously known for bad body image but that doesn't make me feel any better about myself.

I don't think I'm alone here, or at least, I hope not. Almost every friend I have dislikes something about themselves whether it's their hair, face, bum, legs or weight you name it. No matter how many times I watch Gok Wan telling the nation to strip naked and love their bodies, I will almost never look at myself and think 'Yeah, I do look pretty today'.  I don't even know why I care! It's not like every time I go out into the world I have a very high chance of meeting the love of my life! I'm 14 for crying out loud, and yet I do care, I care a lot.

I don't know if I can blame the images I see every day of women wearing gorgeous clothes with pretty smiles and perfect hair. Or the message they send that everyone looks amazing ALL of the time. Except for you, Mollie, they say, except for you. Do I need acceptance? Is that what I seek? Or for someone to acknowledge me, to say that I look exceptionally well today or they like my hair. Which they do, I know they do, my friends say it my mum's friends say it my friend's mums even say it! So why do I still feel down about my looks? Maybe it's the gender of the people who compliment me. Maybe we need, as a nation, to be told my men that we look nice, and not in the degrading, leering way that it so common nowadays. Because, as lovely as he is, Gok is not enough and women being sexualised in almost everything we do especially in the media is not ok.

Don't let sex sell let beauty for what beauty is sell instead. Then maybe the people and I would feel a hell of a lot better about ourselves.


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