Sitting in a cafe in midtown Manhattan, I observe two young women. Both are mid-20s, attractive and on the slimmer side of average. They are talking animatedly about something. Curious, I lean in. I suspect that they are talking about a saucy first date, a juicy piece of workplace gossip, or at least a scandalous Tweet. But no, they are talking about their weights. They are talking about how they plan to tighten and tone “just a little more.” One of them is on a gluten-free diet. The other is on a strict cross-training schedule. Both have stopped drinking alcohol and eliminated sweets. These are pretty, healthy-looking girls, not the kind you would expect to have such concerns. As they continue to chat, I have to wonder what, or for whom they are doing this for.
It’s become common to hear about the way society, the media and the world at large place unreasonable demands upon a woman’s appearance. So common in fact that further discussion seems redundant. Well, I’m not here to reiterate what you’ve already heard. I’m here to propose that we change the conversation.
Trying to empower women by trying to convince people that every woman is beautiful is a well-intentioned but misguided effort.
A counter movement is happening, and that movement says that we should expand our definition of what is beautiful. There are girls whose images you can see transformed from unpolished start to airbrushed finish on YouTube. With a quick internet search, you can see pictures of mothers pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy. And they are proud of the contrast. The Dove Real Beauty campaign demonstrated how respecting women as humans rather than objects can translate into profits. These types of efforts will continue. They challenge our preconceived notions of what’s beautiful, and that’s a good thing.
But the problem with these types of efforts is that they’re all still focused on the way that a woman looks. The real question is, why is being beautiful the focus at all? Whether a woman is “beautiful” or not, it’s a shame that her value seems be so tied up with her appearance. Trying to empower women by trying to convince people that every woman is beautiful is a well-intentioned but misguided effort. It’s asking people to look beyond the superficial without actually going beyond the surface. It’s shining the spotlight on what we’re asking people to overlook while failing to provide an alternative focus.
Rather than focusing on expanding our idea of “beautiful,” let’s expand our idea of how we measure worth. Let’s stop talking about a woman’s appearance altogether. Let’s shift our attention to the work she’s doing, the kindness that she shows, the strength she shares and the difference she’s making in the world. Let’s stop talking about bodies and faces and start talking about the people who wear them.
What do you think are the pros and cons
of expanding the idea of what is beautiful?
Do you think these types of efforts are more
or less empowering to women and why?
We’d love to hear your thoughts below!
I believe every woman’s body is beautiful in its own way. I have never understood that just because a woman has thick thighs, she is considered fat. For so long, I’ve been around in the modeling world and have tried to break that barrier. But I think now it’s turning around.
could not agree more. plus size models are dominating the runways nowadays. besides men are far more intelligent than what we see them. they can see real beauty is not skin deep.
I believe that all women are beautiful no matter how young or old small or big short or tall they may be. each and every one of us is unique and it just adds to the beauty.
I want women to feel beautiful in their own skin, but I don’t want women to believe that the most important thing about them is how they look. I want women to feel confident, but I don’t want women to think that the only way they can feel confident is by receiving external acceptance—be it from a lover or some company trying to sell body wash.
Real beauty comes from within and not on physical attributes. Though image counts, it should not be the basis in empowering women since what matters most is personal disposition. A woman’s worth is not on the surface, it’s with the substance.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,”
Not every woman is beautiful. It is kind of a hateful thing to say but it would be the same as saying that all men are gorgeous. The fact is that women can be different and it just depends on what your definition of beautiful is. Therefore, not all women are beautiful.
Every woman is beautiful in her own way. Inner beauty is the most important feature in a human being.
Actions Speak Louder than the Body. Some women can be very ugly despite their physical appearance. Some people can become very unattractive by their actions alone.
When it comes down to all women being beautiful, I would have to strongly disagree with that statement. Though every woman has the potential to be beautiful, not every woman is beautiful. Beauty is something that comes from within no matter how pretty one looks, and unfortunately not all women have this beauty. Instead, they are marred by their actions like stealing, cheating, and lying.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so yes all women are beautiful. All because one person doesn’t see the beauty doesn’t mean someone else won’t. So there is no set standard for beauty it is safe to say that every woman and every man is beautiful in some way to someone.