In light of the recent L'Oréal-bleaching-Beyoncé-discussion on the web I started to think about my own standards for beauty. I don't particulary find the Beyoncé of the ad beautiful yet this is exactly the kind of action that sparks the discussion about standards of beauty that average women can never meet and leaves us insecure about our own appearance.
I asked my husband about his top five beautiful women. Now he is very emancipated in his attitudes towards women. When I met him and his friends I actually was pretty flabbergasted about their attitude towards women because it's so respectful. Maybe they're a strange bunch, they don't watch porn, they don't talk in a derogatory way about women, their views on shared responsibilities are the dream of every hardcore feminist. Or maybe they're just part of the new generation of men: they fulfill every stereotype when it comes to typically male things (sports, games, movies, hate to go shopping etc.) but they're so secure in their own skin that there's no need for them to hold up stereotypes about women. They're comfortable with a woman being whatever she wants to be herself.
Maybe that is reflected in his choice of beautiful women:
1. Liv Tyler
3. Uma Thurman
4. Rachel Weisz
I like his list, these are all women who look like they're real. I mean, you can imagine their lives being about more than their appearance. Their beauty is just a small part of who they really are.
But I asked him why he left Angelina Jolie of his list. Surely she should be on any list of beautiful women? 'No', he said, 'she's just incredibly sexy, there is a difference, but I'm not sure how to explain that difference. You've got the sexy women and you can look at them and enjoy that and there are beautiful women and you look at them and you're drawn to them.'
His list of beautiful women is pretty similar to my list. I would have chosen Lauren Graham over Rachel Weisz and Angelina Jolie over Uma Thurman, but I like his standard of beauty and I don't feel insecure when I compare myself to these women. I will never look like them, but my life, like theirs, is about more than my appearance.
His list of beautiful women is pretty similar to my list. I would have chosen Lauren Graham over Rachel Weisz and Angelina Jolie over Uma Thurman, but I like his standard of beauty and I don't feel insecure when I compare myself to these women. I will never look like them, but my life, like theirs, is about more than my appearance.
No comments:
Post a Comment