Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Time for a nice Rant!

Another weird night! It's becoming epidemic! D comes home early and leaves to go to a ballgame. I come home, walk the dog. I go to bed. D come home, walks the dog, goes to bed. D gets up and leaves around four. I wake up quarter till 6 alone, wondering if I dreamed him coming home until I find his stuff in the kitchen. All very disorienting... I called him on my way to work to see when he'd gone back to work.

I'm currently ranting internally about the way our society tries to re-form every body to its own image. From cosmetic surgery to tanning booths, they want us all to be the same, tall thin blonde and dumb. We internalize this message to the point that we want to erase all of the little idiosyncrasies and personal traits that make us who we are; to shrink large noses, lipo that round tummy, laser away sexy eye bags, hold in that sarcastic edge. It's ironic because the things we hate about ourselves (because they make us stand out) are the same things that endear us to others and vice versa. I could get a boob-job, because gosh everybody knows that B-cups just don't cut it anymore in this world. But I know of at least one person who loves them the way they are. Isn't it annoying when a friend with beautiful skin, romance-novel skin (you know, creamy, smooth, etc) complains about being pale? We get brain-washed into thinking there's only one pretty kind of skin.

What if you went out and got everything fixed up just the way it should be? What if you dyed your hair blonde, fixed your nose, got the boob job and the liposuction? What if, right when everything was perfect, you met the man of your dreams, and it turned out that he didn't go for any of that stuff? that he prefers the all-natural, doesn't like spherical fake breasts, loves brunettes in glasses? Then what? What kind of people will you attract once you've bought into the barbie-doll image? Someone who wants a barbie, I guess.

The fact that all this stuff is bad for you doesn't even seem to be an issue. The carcinogenic tanning beds, dangerous operations, et al are a small price to pay for artificial beauty. Get your tits fixed and you could have major problems down the road if you ever want to nurse your babies-- not that this would stop anyone now; how long has it been since breasts have been nothing more than decoration/man bait/sex toys? Wait, you mean they had another purpose originally? How weird is that! Kinda gross, really!

That's it, I'm moving back to Vermont, where just shaving my legs makes me ultra-glam and feminine compared to the norm, where there are lots of brunettes, and where very few people seem to feel the need to digitally erase their bags of either saddle or eye variety.

17 comments:

Benjamin said...

Actually, I'm at peace with my baggy eyes. It's just the people who are looking at me who have a problem. Screw them. My glasses have become more a part of my look than a shield for my eyes. Sort of like John Lennon and his ubiquitous granny glasses.

Besides, bodily idiosyncracies have long been the stuff of timeless beauty. Witness Angelina Jolie's lips, Clark Gable's ears, Dolly Parton's bosoms, Harry Potter's scar, Richard Nixon's nose (okay, strike that one), Muhammad Ali's baby-face, Mae West's hourglass figure, Gilderoy Lockhart's - um, well, - there's nothing wrong with him ... physically, anyway.

Thanks for calling me sexy.

Unknown said...

The problem with those idiosyncracies that you listed is that many of them are features that are pretty much universally considered beautiful: full lips, large breasts, .7 hip-to-waist ratio...

You make a lot of good points, Mara, but... I don't know, everyone wants to be more beautiful. I don't want to change everything. I like my hair color, I'm fine with my chest, and though I sometimes go through fits during which I want to be tan, I'm fine with my paper white skin for the most part^_^

But I don't think big pockets of fat that are out of line with the rest of your body are very attractive to anyone. I think I'm pretty slim except for the damn saddlebags.

As for the nose, it isn't really THAT bad, I think, but sometimes I get really mad at it.

But, yeah, I don't really know what my point is. I just think it's human nature to want to make yourself more beautiful. And maybe plastic surgery is the end of individuality, but I don't think you can change your looks ENTIRELY with it.

Mara said...

I see your point Marie, about everybody wanting to look their best. I just get frustrated when attractive people focus on that one thing they don't like about themselves.

Mara said...

Who's John Holmes?

Benjamin said...

John Holmes was the inspiration for Dirk Diggler (if you've ever seen Boogie Nights). He was a porn star in the 70's with an intimidating male memeber. He had all sorts of problems with drugs and criminals, etc. He's dead now.

Bella said...

Hi: my name is Elemental Bella. I have pale, pale Irish skin. I did not inherit the beautiful Cherokee skin that my brother got, but it sure helps my tattoos show up better. I am an A cup and my husband praises it not stop. He loves my butt...and prefers to jiggle it as much as possible, even if it means he just killed a small island nation with the aftershock. I have a slightly pouchy tummy, but it makes my Belly Dancing beautiful and lends itself to some very satisfying moves. I'm 5'4" and have found that my height and small stature surprises my male co-workers when I can lift more than they thought and break down a delivery palet faster than them too. I'm sarchastic, have a dirty mouth/mind, love meeting challenges head on and telling society to kiss my voluptuos ass. I bowed down once...and Anorexia/honey blonde hair/playing timid just didn't work for me. I felt myself dying and I said "fuck this".

Ya, I rule. And so do you.

Benjamin said...

I actually love pale, creamy skin. Benny's Irish Cream, I call it. Mmmm.

Why does every pale skinned person want to be darker? I mean, I like dark skin, too, when it's natural. I've always had a thing for Mexican women and Middle Eastern women, etc, etc. But I actually don't like it so much when women have a tan. It's a personal preference. Besides, people who tan too much end up with the leathery skin of an octogenarian by the time they're thirty.

Mara said...

Looks like I struck a nerve with this one! Sometimes it seems that you have to rant to avoid buckling and joining the blonde herd of lemmings.

I love your attitude, Bella.

Bella said...

Oh! Mara, hon...go to my blog...see how much fun I'm having? looks like we both struck a few nerves.

whee!!!

Benjamin said...

So who deleted their comment? Did I offend someone?

Anonymous said...

Beware of sin. It is everywhere.

Benjamin said...

So are you, apparently.

Benjamin said...

You all owe it to yourselves to see the Amanada's blog turned out. Over 100 entries before ... well ... you'll see. It's a classic!!!

Bella said...

ya, my friend totally got us.

he's toast. :)

JJM said...

I just want to say, I know you don't know me, but you were the first to figure out who the zealot was on Amanda's blog.

Well done!

Allie said...

I'm Blonde so I kind of take offense here, I mean just because I am blonde does not mean I am dumb, or trying to be fashionable. Thats my hair color, I an not going to go out and dye it brown because I want to be taken seriously. Blondes sadly enough have been placed in that stupid place because people like Jessica S. can't figure out up or down. I say be yourself, don't put other people down and deal. Life is how it is, I am fat, my husband finds it attractive, although I am also pregnant so there is some more fat, he still thinks I am beautiful. Life is what you make it, you cannot judge others for wanting the fake appeal, although I have made fun of pleanty myself. I realize that they are confused, and lost really, no one is telling them they are fine or beautiful the way they are. Thats whats truely wrong.

Mara said...

Allie, please don't be insulted, because I don't mean anything against blondes. My rant is against people changing themselves to match a false "ideal", not about being blonde-- about people who think that they *have* to be blond in order to be attractive.

You sound like you're very at peace with yourself and your appearance, and that's what it's all about!