Recently, The Criterion conducted a poll both online and in-person that asked how people viewed themselves. The options were beautiful/handsome, average and unattractive. The answers provided gave a glimpse into how Colorado Mesa University students see themselves.
The inspiration for the poll came from a Dove commercial that set up two doorways, one labelled “beautiful” and another labelled “average,” for women to walk through. Both the Dove commercial and the poll conducted by The Criterion highlight a trend of poor body positivity.
The results of the polls varied by platform. Online, 16 total votes were submitted and generally showed positive body image by the voters. Nine of the 16 votes were for beautiful/handsome, accounting for 56 percent of the total votes. Four people voted for average, accounting for 25 percent of the votes and 19 percent of the voters, three votes, selected unattractive.
In-person, beautiful/handsome had the least votes. Seven out of 62 people polled said they viewed themselves in such a positive light, accounting for 11 percent. There were twelve people, 19 percent, who viewed themselves as unattractive. The overwhelming majority, 43 students, or 69 percent, saw themselves as average.
The difference in the polls is a clear demonstration of how people respond when they have the cover of anonymity versus the fear of being judged. Online, a person could click the beautiful/handsome button and not worry that someone would scoff at their selection.
In-person, few wanted to take the risk of judgement. Selecting average was safe. Nobody could make them feel like they weren’t beautiful if they already eliminated themselves from that category.
The disparity between the polls makes the selection of unattractive on the online poll that much more devastating. Those people rejected themselves to the lowest level even when nobody was there to tell them they couldn’t be beautiful.
When I conducted the poll, my heart sank to see so many declare themselves average and broke altogether when some called themselves unattractive.
Though I knew it would most likely not happen, I wished for 100 percent of those polled to declare themselves beautiful; because they are.
They are beautiful. You are beautiful. I am beautiful. We are all beautiful. The shameful thing is that the world so often tells us differently. It is lying.
We see standards of beauty thrown in our faces every day. Standards for both men and women that are simply not realistically achievable for all but a few.
Does that mean that only a few people are able to be beautiful and the rest of us must find contentment in being average or mired in unattractiveness? Absolutely not.
Those standards, two-dimensional superficial nonsense, do more to tear people down than build them up. The only people who are unattractive are those who seek to categorize individuals based upon outward appearance alone.
There is beauty in everyone. Some recognize it and let it shine. Others hide it beneath tears that drop from being judged. If you are one of the latter, I implore you to stop.
Uncover your beauty. Show it proudly to the world and let it shine.
The first step is to recognize the beauty within yourself. When you look in the mirror, do not get short-sighted by the superficial image reflected back to you. Look deeper and feel the joy of seeing how beautiful you genuinely are.
And the next time someone asks you either online or in-person how you view yourself, don’t hesitate to proclaim “I am beautiful!”
