Media Vs Love.

Society has a problem: men and women can't get along as a romantic pairing. Especially ones found in my own age bracket (20-30).

Oftentimes I shall hear girls bewailing their lot and exclaiming over men not respecting them, or having cheated on them. Oftentimes I hear professions of not being concerned with the look of an individual, but merely his/her personality. But when one inspects the situation closely one finds that nine times out of ten they will default to the better-looking chap.

The problem with this primarily lies in the media. It is impressed upon the individual that they have a duty to look as pretty - as stunning - as possible. Being fat is unacceptable, being average is unacceptable. It is impressed upon the individual that they must use beauty products, wear the best clothes, have a certain hairstyle, act a certain way and do certain things in certain ways or - simply - you are not attractive to the opposite sex.

Of course this is all a lie. But the problem is that everyone in that mindset has bought into the lie, so once an individual is, by the media's opinion 'acceptable', they suddenly become attractive to a great many individuals of the opposite sex.

This has a devastating effect on the personality of these superficial individuals: they lose all respect for human beings.
   Oftentimes it is the fellow who has cheated on his girlfriend leaving her to bewail her lot about how she is not respected and how all men are, naturally, bastards. This is because she dates what is, essentially, the Ken Doll variety of male.
   The problem with this lies in the fact that our Ken Doll male is fully aware of the fact that he is good-looking. He has taken great pains to get that way and he conforms to the cover-magazine copies of himself.
   In this awareness he is given the confidence that he is attractive to many girls and is able to woo any girl he chooses. This means that any girl he might currently be involved with is now disposable. If he cheats on her and she terminates the relationship it is not going to break his heart even slightly. He knows he is still young with his life a head of him but, more importantly to him, he knows he is good-looking. So the process of finding another girl will be a relatively easy one.
   The girl, on the other hand, is left to bewail her lot and wonder why men don't respect her and why men are all bastards. She will oftentimes - as I have said - profess that she does not care for looks but just wants someone with a good personality. However if a an ugly (by the standards of the media machine) person should attempt to woo her, no matter how stunning a personality he might possess she will not be interested in him. She will always choose someone who is good looking. What she really desires is someone who has a good personality, but who is good looking. She is simply not honest enough to say it aloud. The same works in reverse for men.

One would argue that there is a 'chemistry' or 'physical attraction' that is required before the courting process might begin. But this is simply a lie constructed by the media to keep everyone buying magazines that provide unrealistic tips on beauty as well as keep people purchasing beauty products.

The media is killing the respect that young people have in each other. It is killing the respect that men and women have for each other. Perhaps one day in a distant future the 'ideal man' or the 'ideal woman' will be constructed on an assembly line and sold in stores as 'the most faithful supermodel you'll ever date'. People would even be stupid enough to buy into it.

In order for there to be respect one must discount the look of an individual entirely. Part of having respect for someone - part of loving someone - is loving them for who they are and allo of their faults. Whether they have stuck-out teeth or might not be size zero, these differentiating features are what makes us us. What makes me different from you and Harry different from Curly. I fancy that, over the years, a great multitude of people have missed 'The One (that person who you shall spend forever with)' entirely by simply disregarding him or her and going for the girl or guy with the prettier face. One can still be devastatingly supermodel-perfect but be a terrible person.

People need to realise that there is a difference between being beautiful and being pretty. Being pretty is merely a superficial thing that shall last only as long as your youth. It is transient and doesn't even last a lifetime. Beauty, however, encompasses more than just the external appearance. It takes into account the character, personality and nature of a person. But this concept seems to have been cast into obscurity by the Media today.

But remember this, a little nugget of advice: The beauty you think you seek is only skin deep, but Ugly goes to the bone.