Beauty and Abilities Dilemma
Views:1129 |
By:
Wanjiru |
Act:
Visit Business
Why does society reward vanity and beauty over real abilities and intellect?
In the current society, it is more of how you look (mostly in women) and not what you can offer. But does it mean that if you are not perfect in your outlooks the same applies to your whole body?
Not only are we fighting this mindset of people in order to focus on what truly matters, but also on the consequences. It’s sickening that some women are still judged first and foremost by their looks instead of their intelligence. It’s no wonder women have a hard time getting ahead in many fields and instances; not only are we taught to engage in meaningless rituals that take up the time they could be used for other pursuits, but they also have to fight against a culture that looks at our bodies before it even listens to what we are saying.
A large number of women live in denial just because no one believes in their capabilities. They do not live in poverty because we do not have the skills, but because there is no opportunity for them to showcase what they possess. This mostly applies to women in tech, “are you sure you can do this, but you don’t look like you can do it ”. A good number of women experience this every time they go for an interview.
There is a deeper and even more puzzling issue lurking here. Is it that every culture has to discriminate in some way or other in order to structure society? and we chose to discriminate in favor of the intellect? If so, perhaps discrimination is rather less of a dirty word than we like to imagine.
How can this be brought to an end?
# Giving women opportunities not only in the commonly referred to as female jobs but also male-dominated fields.
# Do away with the culture and mentality that physical looks are more important than real capabilities.
# Encourage more women to take up more space in the high-represented jobs.