Beauty: My Blessing and My Curse ...

Beauty: My Blessing and My Curse ...
By Guest • Oct 1, 2008 MD

**By Heather LaFeber **

**** Transforming from an ugly duckling in high school to a beautiful swan in college is not how they make it out to be in fairytales. Granted, the attention and free drinks were not without their charms at first. In fact, I craved the attention because it was new and exciting to me, completely different from the complete indifference I was treated with in high school. I could get whatever I wanted now, simply because of this** wonderful blessing of attractiveness**.

But as I ventured in to the professional world, my beauty became somewhat of a curse. I am an ambitious person with a drive to excel professionally, but I began to notice people questioning my credibility and professional potential. When I received a promotion at my work, one of my co-workers even said to me, "I'm sure the interview was in a room full of men, right?" As if a beautiful woman couldn't possibly be** independently intelligent and successful** by her own merit.

As I continue to struggle with the stereotype that beautiful women are stupid or flighty or unreliable and unprofessional, I also continue to use my beauty to my advantage. But with the good, comes the bad and it is something I must learn to overcome. I take these stereotypes and use them as my motivation to break the mold and prove to the world that beautiful women can be smart and successful too.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  • Hot

    2009-12-02T04:04:49.000Z

    I totally agree with you! I too possess great beauty and sometimes I just don't know how to deal, oh my gosh!
  • Bubbles

    2010-02-08T09:14:59.000Z

    I'm not really beautiful any more. I am fifty, so my looks have faded a bit, but I am still attractive for my age. Recently I lost 15kgs (about 34 pounds), got my teeth fixed and because of a nose job to correct a deviated septum several years ago and a hysterectomy that greatly improved my health two years ago, I am now one heck of a good looking woman for my age. One young man approached me in the street a few months ago to say 'madam, you are beautiful', but I don't get the same attention I got when I was young - unless I go without glasses.... I am having so much trouble at work, mainly because the other women, who are all around my age, hate me. They take everything I say the wrong way - such as the time I advised my secretary to wear something nice to an event, because I thought she'd misunderstood me and was wearing 'work clothes'. But she took it the wrong way. If I talk about dieting, and I am forever dieting, they all go quiet (because my diet of two years worked and I am as slim and shapely as a 30 year old) and they are frumpy old ladies. Like you, I was not born beautiful. I grew into it and while it was fun when I was younger, it was also difficult. People would say 'oh....poor thing' mockingly, but it can be rather difficult when no woman wants to be seen with you. It is isolating when you are bullied and not taken seriously or considered unintelligent. I would rather be beautiful than not. Sure. But it isn't as easy as it seems. Takes some getting used to.
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