Nuzhat Mahjabeen

ID: 201000502

A Predicament: Relationship between Beauty and Women in positions of Power

Oh, who doesn't love her school? A whole heap of gratifying memories echoes in the earth,

rejuvenating every square inches of the body. Every class, section, bench, corner works like a

remembrance, reminiscing every story lived there. " But does all the memories function like a

bonbon?", she asked herself walking down the long- wide corridor of her ancient school building.

"These pillars must have remembered the way my self-confidence was stubbed out", her lips

corresponding to her hands, while the hands were lingering on the vertical support of the ancient

school building. 13th March, 2012. She just celebrated her 13th birthday with her best friends. They

were a group of four and the whole school used to know them as a compact. On the very first

period, someone from her class, carried out a message of one of their teachers, asking for beautiful

pretty girls to represent the school in a national campaign. She was beyond excited and confident

about representing her school. " But am I beautiful? - Perhaps not! How would I understand if I

am beautiful?", she asked herself. On the other hand, her friends were waving their hands up high

as if they were about to reach the sky. " Maybe, I am beautiful!", her inner-self murmured. She

gazed at her school dress; it was properly ironed. Her nails were chipped and clean, her shoes were

as white as snow and her two ponytails were perfectly laced with the two white ribbons, her granny

gave her in the morning. Moreover, she has done tremendously well in the last term. Her friends

were cheering, "Come on, you can do it." So, another hand was raised high! In the lengthy-

extended corridor, they were waiting delightedly for their teacher. The teacher came but the glee
of her face was gone. She was asked to stay and do her classes in the school as she didn't fit in the

criteria of being beautiful. All she felt was she wasn't good enough, where all her friends were.

This story delineates how societal ideal beauty can become a baggage. It portrays, a woman's

achievement, effort, hard-work, passion, zeal can mean nothing to someone, if she isn't good

looking enough in the eyes of the society. From a little girl to a grown-up lady, anyone can face

the wrath of beauty myth.t

It is not the light that defines a sacred feminine

But the silhouette that eclipses against her divinity

This epigraph asseverates to the fact that, Women's accomplishments in their career are not enough

for them to sustain in this world owing to the beauty myth that states, how they look is important,

not what they are.

Just after the dawn of mankind, human beings started to wonder about beauty. They sought

different ways to define beauty. First, it was a fascination then it became a subject of study in

philosophy, biology, social study and what not. Unfortunately, for woman, it became one of the

heftiest words they have ever come across. Different era had different definitions for beauty, but

there was one thing that was same in every epoch. That is- beauty was always meant for women,

man was never indulged in this criterion. So, what is beauty? The girl in the story asked herself a

question, “How would I understand if I am beautiful?” Since the beginning many tried to define

woman's beauty. As stated in the definition in every era, women do try hard to fit in to be beautiful.

According to the Washington Post (1987), “The ancient Greeks believed perfect proportions were

the key to a woman's beautiful face.” With time, the definition changed but beauty is still there, as

an inescapable part of a woman's life. Often a question is raised, who gets to decide whether a
woman is beautiful or not? What is the scale of beauty? Most importantly, who created that scale?

An Italian poet and litterateur Agnolo Firenzuola had given a lot of viewpoints on how his ideal

woman should be. Such as: “The eyes should be fringed by a modest number of lashes, which

should not be too long and neither black nor white.” (Cropper,1976). It portrays how women are

seen most often. As if it’s not her body, it’s a canvas where she needs to put every stroke of ink

and colors carefully and precisely, otherwise she would not be counted as “Beautiful”. So, what

happens to the women who aren’t counted as beautiful by the society? What are they termed as?

Women are often seen as a subject of beauty and without it they cannot serve any other purpose.

Without beauty her whole existence becomes a lie. “She might be the Queen of Ireland, Florence,

or Blancheflore, but she appears always in the same blonde, ivory and vermilion, succulent form.”

(Cropper,1976). From 19th century to 21st century, a lot of things has changed but the beauty myth

always found it’s ways in different form.

Beauty has long been thought to be an enigmatic and alluring entity on the subconscious that

demonstrates itself in stories about politics, romance, strength, social standing and what not.

Throughout recorded existence of human civilization; societies and communities have discussed

the concept of beauty and its significance upon everyone. This beauty has to be in the grip of every

other woman. But when it comes to the position of power, many amongst us, surmise that woman

cannot be put in the position of comprehensive power. They believe women and power doesn’t go

together. But why so? Arguably, empowerment has been viewed differently between men and

women. Men have traditionally been associated with authority and influential roles, while women

have not. Most cultures' societal norms for females and males have marginalized women to mainly

domestic work and care chores. This core function of fostering and caring others came to for a

multitude of reasons, but the final outcome is a decline in the percentage of women in the
workforce and a reduction in their opportunities to work outside the home. But did women consider

it as their only limit? Perhaps not. The first lady Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, is ranked

fourth on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people. ("The World's Most Powerful People",

2018). Merkel remained Europe's de facto head, in power of the continent's largest economy after

guiding it through the economic meltdown and rear to growth. From taking a stand against Trump

Administration to granting over a million of Syrian refugees into Germany, her presidency is

highlighted by her brooding reserve. "According to Forbes, an October 2020 survey found 75% of

adults in 14 European countries trust Merkel more than any other leader in the region." (Hislop,

2020). In August 2020, Kamala Harris has become the first woman, as well as the first Black and

South Asian woman, to embrace the vice-presidential nomination beside former Vice President

Joe Biden. (McDowell, 2021). This potentially proves that in position of power a woman can

become a great leader and also bud in the growth of success.

Though women have come across a long way ameliorating their calibre, the beauty myth has

become one of the greatest hurdles for them as well. But how's that? It's possible that beauty can

work like a double-edged sword. It can open doors for women in the workplace, but it can also

lead to traps, obstacles, and stigmatization. "43 percent of managers admitted to overlooking

someone for a promotion or pay raise because of the way she dressed, and 20 percent used this as

grounds for dismissal." ("The importance of Beauty, Attractiveness and Workplace Power", n.d.).

The expression "glass ceiling" has been used to illustrate invisible walls ("glass") that hinder

women from obtaining elite ranks ("ceiling"). A great number of women are often unable to

acquire and hold the most influential, coveted, and high-paying jobs in the workforce due to these

hurdles. It's natural for a woman in corporate to ponder what it takes to succeed. Is it necessary for

her to be attractive and glamorous? or Is she supposed to be macho and never wear a dress or
make-up? Is it really that vital how she appears to look? It does make a difference, according to

numerous academic researches and the majority of business leaders. It is crucially significant and

this eventually becomes a poison for women. "Wolf’s beauty myth—beauty as a social force that

is informed by a collision of capitalistic urges and outdated cultural assumptions—has retained its

mythic status: Whoever you are, and however you see yourself as a person and as an object in the

world (which is also to say, however you see other people seeing you), its forces will exert

themselves on your life." (Garber, 2016). This is a perilous compulsion with feminine

attractiveness that is fueled on women's insecurity and vulnerability. Women become more aware

of their looks not their skills. According to Marcia Reynolds, Psy.D., President of Covisioning

LLC, " I think every woman should care about how she looks if she wants to realize a comfortable

level of success and self-sufficiency. " (Reynolds Psy.D., 2011). Hence, it evinces how beauty has

become one of the crucial factors for woman to have a successful life.

Physical beauty makes a strong first impression on the audience, so strong that we may go much

further than appearances and make judgements about an individual's achievement, stature,

upbringing, and creativity, even though those hypotheses are ascertained to be turned out as wrong.

Most of the us have likely heard anecdotes about attractive young women opting off from moving

violations due to various their appearance. These kinds of stories don’t have greater impact on

anything but if we see it in a small scale, it definitely gives others a notion that beautiful woman

can get anything only because they are beautiful. So, if a woman is both smart and attractive then-

well, too bad for her. They are thought to be successful by selling their beauty and most of the time

are not seen as a capable individual for the job. "Their study found that the beautiful women were

perceived to be less truthful, less trustworthy as leaders, and more deserving of termination than

their more ordinary-looking female counterparts." (SENTURIA, 2019). Beauty and appearance,
with all its vague, muddled in aspiration and apprehension, is overly documented and

underappreciated in part due to a culture-wide misunderstanding of beauty's different and often

unstated directives.

The catalogue of harmful, brutal, and dangerous practices perpetrated against women's bodies is

relentless. Eyelash extensions have been stitched on to the eyelids, and foot binding methods have

been used to attain doll-like toes; eye drops of deadly nightshade or belladonna have been used to

deform pupils; vials of urinary from teenage kids have been used to clear freckles; and tapeworm

pills have been used for weight loss. The new standard of beauty has become an obstacle for every

woman who cannot fulfill the demand. Beauty became an integral part of a woman's life. A woman

without fulfilling these standards of beauty is seen a burden. On the other hand, a woman fulfilling

these standards is counted as a showpiece. It has become a tangled web, a convoluted mess.

Though many of them have been successful in getting out of the mess and get their desired life, a

lot of them are enmeshed in it. Consequently, beauty has become wage slavery to the women

whose outcomes are inextricably linked to social significance.

Cropper, E. (1976). On Beautiful Women, Parmigianino, Petrarchismo, and the Vernacular Style.

The Art Bulletin, 58(3), 374-394.

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https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/06/the-paradox-of-

pretty/487934/.

Hislop, M. (2020). Kamala Harris makes debut on Forbes' most powerful women list as Angela

Merkel takes top spot. Women's Agenda. Retrieved 19 March 2021, from

https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/kamala-harris-makes-debut-on-forbes-most-

powerful-women-list-as-angela-merkel-takes-top-spot/.

McDowell, E. (2021). Kamala Harris was just sworn in as the first female vice president in US

history. Here are 35 of the most powerful women in 2021. Business Insider. Retrieved from

https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-women-in-the-world-2020-2.

Reynolds Psy.D, M. (2011). Why Women Have to Care About Their Looks. Psychology Today.

Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wander-woman/201107/why-

women-have-care-about-their-looks.

SENTURIA, N. (2019). Think pretty and intelligent women have an easy path in the workplace?

Not so, says new research. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved from

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2019-12-16/the-bias-against-

beautiful-women-at-work.
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The Washington Post. (1987). BEAUTY THROUGH HISTORY. Retrieved 5 March 2021, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1987/01/27/beauty-through-

history/301f7256-0f6b-403e-abec-f36c0a3ec313/.

The World's Most Powerful People. Forbes. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/list/#tab:overall.