The Shame in Beauty
I saw this video of a poetry slam that was quite remarkable and hit home very abruptly. I felt like this man's words finally brought together a lot of the inner struggle I've had my whole life and I needed to share. Video: 7-cowardly-words-from-a-totally-sexist-stranger Essentially, he overheard a man on a bus say to a woman, "You're too ugly to be raped." The poet went on to reveal an emotionally jarring, yet beautiful flow of verses directed at putting this "man on the bus" in his place. I loved every moment of it. But it also stirred up something inside me, something I hadn't really processed before. My whole life I was told that I was beautiful. Yet, even as a young girl, I felt uncomfortable with this. As I grew up, I maintained a modest appearance, always over-thinking the make-up, hairstyles and clothes I chose to represent myself. On one account, I was raised to be modest and humble. On another account, I really had no sense of style
