shiny.nu

Lately on facebook, I’ve been seeing a lot of pretty-girl-bashing. Okay, it’s only been a few isolated cases, but when one person posts a picture and says “omg look how disgusting this girl is!”, every other female on their friends list jumps on the bandwagon and bashes the shit out of  the anonymous pictured girl.

Why? Because she is wearing a lot of makeup, because she dyes her hair, because she has had plastic surgery… or really, because she’s pretty and flawless and other girls – in all their insecure glories – are jealous and view such a girl as a threat. Only once or twice did I see a guy chime in on the matter, with an opinion other than “she’s hot.” Guys don’t care. Girls, girls are catty and mean and will not hesitate for a moment to knock someone down a few notches to feel better about themselves.

As someone who does wear a lot of makeup and dyes my hair – things that alter my appearance for aesthetic value – it personally hurts when I see friends completely writing off another woman as “fake” and “disgusting” because she bleaches her hair, wears tons of makeup, and dons a push-up bra to look like Barbie. Would the comments be different had she been a friend of theirs? What would the reactions be like if someone spoke like that about them instead?

When I expressed my concerns over this girl-bashing fad on facebook, the general reaction I got was wholly or partially in favor with my opinion. The girls I’d seen previously bashing other girls on facebook didn’t weigh in on the discussion. One friend commented how she thought makeup was acceptable for self-expression, but not for fashion or “because the boys like it.”

First of all, as someone who took a considerable amount of fashion design classes in high school, I would consider fashion a form of self-expression. Even if you’re someone who follows certain fads and your look changes with the seasons, I believe that’s still a method of expressing yourself through your physical representation. Besides that, why do we even follow fashions anyway? Wear specific clothes, dye and groom our hair, wear makeup… to attract mates and companions. It’s not so silly when you think about it, it’s a practice seen even in nature. Many species of animals decorate themselves with foliage an other ornaments during mating season. So I don’t think it’s “unnatural” or “fake” to want to mold oneself into a certain image with makeup, hair dye, and possibly plastic surgery; it’s all just an advanced form of primal self-decoration.

All that being said, I think most girls need to chill out and just grow a pair. If you come across a girl that’s prettier than you perceive yourself to be, try complimenting her instead of shooting her down. Or if you find her look that unappealing, try just keeping it to yourself and being cordial for a change.