I have nothing against looking at photos of hot people. I have nothing against talking about how hot hot people are. I just think it's weird when we act like natural hotness is something that's inherently praiseworthy, like it's proof of good morals or something (which is what I think the airt was hinting at with the Megan Fox comparison, although that might be me reading in the sorts of comments I've seen elsewhere), when it's really just a genetic accident.
So I'm all for saying "yay Jensen is hot!" I'm not all for saying "Jensen is better than [male actor x] because he is naturally hot," which is the vibe I'm getting here.
I mean, pretty much every culture in the world has equated and continues to equate beauty as being a marker of some greater "quality" in a person. Books (think of all the fairy tales where the pretty heroine is pitted against an ugly villain), movies, music. That's why even now, in 2012, celebrities continue to lie about having work done. It's why the fact that so-and-so had a nose job or breast implants is deemed worthy of a headline in some trashy gossip magazine. The idea that one can buy an attractive mask has such a stigma because of centuries worth of conditioning. It's "Snow White was fairest in all the land," not "Snow White got herself some collagen injections and a nose job and she was hotter than all the other broads in the kingdom." So I don't think it's bizarre that cosmetic surgery is going to get a reaction.
I mean, pretty much every culture in the world has equated and continues to equate beauty as being a marker of some greater "quality" in a person.
I agree with you, but I think it's really harmful for us to perpetuate the connection between beauty and inherent worth. If we continue to suggest that Snow White's genetically arbitrary beauty is proof of her worthiness as a heroine, it's hardly surprising that some other young woman might feel the need for surgery.
Beauty is good, it's not a sign of moral worthiness, any more than plastic surgery should be a sign of moral turpitude.
It's just ugliness hidden by a perfect mask. Think of Warren Beatty, who sleeps with underage girls. Or Paris Hilton, a vile racist. Or Mark Wahlberg, who beat up a Vietnamese man with a stick while hurling racial slurs, rendering him blind in one eye. Meanwhile, the idiots on tumblr reblog pictures of Jensen's eyes in ultra saturated colors, or Danneel in a thong on top of a car, or Jared posing in a wifebeater two sizes too small and oohing and ahhing even though they know jack shit about them as people. Just because your DNA happened to interlock in a certain way doesn't mean you're worth more as a person.
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Re: Plastic surgery.
(Anonymous) 2012-01-06 01:35 am (UTC)(link)Meh, this fandom does it all the time for Jared and Jensen.
Re: Plastic surgery.
(Anonymous) 2012-01-06 01:45 am (UTC)(link)I have nothing against looking at photos of hot people. I have nothing against talking about how hot hot people are. I just think it's weird when we act like natural hotness is something that's inherently praiseworthy, like it's proof of good morals or something (which is what I think the airt was hinting at with the Megan Fox comparison, although that might be me reading in the sorts of comments I've seen elsewhere), when it's really just a genetic accident.
So I'm all for saying "yay Jensen is hot!" I'm not all for saying "Jensen is better than [male actor x] because he is naturally hot," which is the vibe I'm getting here.
Re: Plastic surgery.
(Anonymous) 2012-01-06 01:59 am (UTC)(link)I mean, pretty much every culture in the world has equated and continues to equate beauty as being a marker of some greater "quality" in a person. Books (think of all the fairy tales where the pretty heroine is pitted against an ugly villain), movies, music. That's why even now, in 2012, celebrities continue to lie about having work done. It's why the fact that so-and-so had a nose job or breast implants is deemed worthy of a headline in some trashy gossip magazine. The idea that one can buy an attractive mask has such a stigma because of centuries worth of conditioning. It's "Snow White was fairest in all the land," not "Snow White got herself some collagen injections and a nose job and she was hotter than all the other broads in the kingdom." So I don't think it's bizarre that cosmetic surgery is going to get a reaction.
Re: Plastic surgery.
(Anonymous) 2012-01-06 02:05 am (UTC)(link)I mean, pretty much every culture in the world has equated and continues to equate beauty as being a marker of some greater "quality" in a person.
I agree with you, but I think it's really harmful for us to perpetuate the connection between beauty and inherent worth. If we continue to suggest that Snow White's genetically arbitrary beauty is proof of her worthiness as a heroine, it's hardly surprising that some other young woman might feel the need for surgery.
Beauty is good, it's not a sign of moral worthiness, any more than plastic surgery should be a sign of moral turpitude.
Re: Plastic surgery.
(Anonymous) 2012-01-06 02:15 am (UTC)(link)