Jan 12 2009
How Do You Measure Beauty?
I don’t know who else is hooked on reality shows, but I have to admit… ever since the first season of MTV’s Real World, I find myself drawn to them. Well, my latest reality show guilty pleasure is True Beauty on ABC. When I first saw it advertised, I thought “No, way. I am not getting sucked in to that. You can’t judge beauty.” Then, I messed around and caught the second airing of the season premiere this past weekend. Let me tell you–very entertaining! And, yes. It also begs the question, “What is beauty?”… Better yet, “How do you measure or judge beauty?”
Background of the show: Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks (Executive Producers) team up to find the most beautiful person, both inside and out. The ten contestants, who are beautiful on the outside, have no idea that they are also being judged on their inner beauty, based on how they respond to moral dilemmas. They agree to live in a mansion, go through a series of challenges to see who is most beautiful, and be judged by Vanessa Minnillo (former actress and MTV VJ), Nole Marin (celebrity stylist and former America’s Next Top Model judge), and Cheryl Tiegs (supermodel). One person is eliminated each week and only then will he or she learn the truth about the show. The winner of the competition will receive cash and a spot in PEOPLE Magazine’s “100 Most Beautiful People” issue.
You probably already guessed that anyone going on a show to declare he or she is most beautiful is probably arrogant, self-absorbed, obnoxious confident, daring, and fun to watch, but that will only slightly prepare you for how all ten of them interact with each other and react to the challenges.
Hadiyyah-lah Sa’id, a twenty-three-year-old Receptionist/ Audio Engineer, from Minneapolis, MN, was the first to be eliminated:
During the show, she said, “It is very possible that I could be the most beautiful person in the country”. She also said, “When I look in the mirror I see gorgeous skin, gorgeous eyes. Nose is perfect. Lips are perfect. Eyebrows are perfect. Everything about me is perfect”. Hmmmm…
On a scale from 0-10, she rates herself 20, for physical beauty. However, after: 1. She was caught on spy cam looking through the personal files of other competitors, 2. Went ballistic after a doctor critiqued and scored her beauty, and 3. Failed to help an actor, who was struggling to open a door while carrying armfuls of hot coffee, the judges rated her a “0″ for inner beauty and sent her home.
You may be thinking what I was when I first saw this show advertised: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? It’s subjective. Maybe it’s unfair to the contestants to be judged on their outer beauty. Well, since they agreed to be subjected to this scrutiny in order to win, I no longer have qualms with the subjectiveness of the show.
Maybe even judging these ten people on their inner beauty is unfair, as well. Maybe the challenges are too difficult. Maybe it is too hard to open the door for another person. Maybe being charitable is too much to ask of someone. It certainly has to be hard to be honest, or kind, or thoughtful.
BUT, since the contestants have no problem letting everyone know how beautiful they are on the outside, they should have no problem showing how beautiful they are on the inside. Being beautiful, physically, is not difficult for them. So, if they have a difficult time with these moral challenges, maybe they aren’t as beautiful as they think they are.
On a personal note–Sure, I want to be a beautiful person. I am eager to lose thirty pounds, have full, healthy-looking hair… smooth, blemish-free mocha skin… perfectly manicured nails… and wear the hottest in fashion trends (at discount prices, of course). But, that outside beauty won’t mean a hill of beans if I am an ugly person inside.
That’s what I love about this show. Ashton and Tyra have high hopes of teaching the contestants and viewers this simple lesson: Beauty is not skin deep. In measuring beauty, it is equally as important to be humble, honest, compassionate, patient, loyal, forgiving, and generous, as it is to look at physical characteristics. I look forward to this eight-week journey, as I am sure the show will further explore the components of true beauty.
One of my best and most favorite quotes of all time:
“A woman who makes you feel good about yourself is never homely. After a while, you realize, she always was beautiful. You just hadn’t noticed it at first.” Robert Heinlein.
My husband always reminds me about this quote and vice versa.
I’m a reality show junkie too on occasion. The ads for this show piqued my interest, but I missed the first episode since I never knew when it was on. Maybe I’ll catch in next week. I don’t think the concept is unfair at all, particularly when the “contestants” are so eager to brag about their physical attributes.
I haven’t watched it. The people in the commercials are so arrogant that I can’t bring myself to tune in. I love the idea of the show, looking at what matters, what is inside, but I don’t think I can watch these people who are so in love with themselves.
My grandma has always said, “don’t be ugly” when someone is being mean or nasty. She also has always said, “pretty is as pretty does.”
I’ve had my view of people change over the years. People I thought were attractive have become the ugliest thing ever after certain behavior and people who are not physically attractive have become so after knowing them and seeing what good, kind people they are.
It’s a great lesson and I hope a lot of people learn from it. I just can’t handle watching it.
Oh, and by the way, you are beautiful. You don’t have to try, you are. Perfection is a myth, it is some stupid standard we set for ourselves and it is really unattainable. You are perfect as you were made and you are beautiful.
`Kelly
http://www.30somethingandsearching.today.com/
Stephanie–Great quote. You seem to have an endless supply of these.
Susan–I’ll have to check back to see what your character is up to today.
MrsBear–Last night’s episode was good too. Those contestants are funny! There’s probably a second-airing this weekend. Either way, I think you can catch some of it online (ABC).
Nicole–Told ya it was good, especially for a reality show junkie. I was very disappointed with that stunt CJ pulled last night, but Ashley was clearly worse so that’s why she got the boot.
I still watch “American Idol”, but “Survivor” and “The Bachelor” have gone to the dogs for me. After a few seasons, I just lost interest. I haven’t watched “So You Think You Can Dance?”, but “Dancing With The Stars” is a favorite.
Heidi–I agree with you and your mom on this one.
Kelly–They do come off very arrogant. That’s part of what makes them so funny. They say things you just KNOW no one one ever say aloud, even if they ever had the audacity to think it. LOL
And, thank you. Perfection is definitely a myth.
Michelle–I hope you can catch it too. Remember, they air some of it online (ABC). Let me know what you think if you happen to watch.
Davida
I did watch it and it does send a message. It will be interesting to see who wins. Personally I think it will be CJ. After being in the bottom two last night he does have the right attitude about beauty.