Two days ago 23 year-old Zhang Zi Lin of china won the Miss World 2007 title ahead of 105 of the world’s most beautiful women in Sanya, on the Chinese island of Hainan. (See photos here)
That brought up a few thoughts…
For starters, we all aspire to look and feel our best… and, for the most part, we’re inspired by talent and beauty. Think about sport events were we admire physical talents, think about admiring Michelangelo’s David (probably the most recognizable statue in the history of art).
Yet… on the other side of the spectrum… some of us consider beauty pageants as “objectification of women”, or encouraging a beauty standard that only a few women can conform to (consequently giving rise to dieting, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery).
In other words: if you see beauty or talent, does it inspire you?
Or does it put you down by adding pressure to be perfect (to a standard set by the media or a stereotype)?
These two factors seem to be present in the back-of-our-heads to some extent. I guess it’s more of “which one wins over and comes through your actions”.
Here’s some findings showing how much looks play a role in our society:
- “Those they deemed the most attractive make 12 per cent more money than those regarded as less goodlooking” (The Independent, 3rd December 2007)
- “39 per cent of attractive men and women were judged to be helpful, compared to 16 per cent of middle attractive people, and only six per cent of unattractive people.” (The Independent, 3rd December 2007)
- “The average CEO is approximately 3 inches taller than the average American man” based on the results of about one-half of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies (The Regional Economist)
- “Women who were obese according to their Body Mass Index (BMI) in both 1981 and 1988 earned 17 percent lower wages on average than women within their recommended BMI range.” (The Regional Economist)
I guess looks play a bigger role than most of us would like to believe!
Whether you’re into beauty pageants or not, I wish you find your own inspiration that keeps you focused on looking and feeling your best.
To your success,
M. Jamal
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