The apparent downsides of being this beautiful.

 *Image from dailymail.co.uk

Many, many of my posts so far have come across the issue of self esteem, especially among women in today's society. I am a firm, strong advocat that everybody deserves to have self esteem, feel good about who they are and the way they look. However, that is not the same thing as arrogance.

I think the idea of having a "swelled head" has been an acute fear in the last several generations, and therefore, led to what could possibly explain some of a lack of self esteem among the younger generations of today due to those fears manifested in parental behaviours.

My point is, that there is a happy medium, and I do not think Samantha Brick's recent article falls within it. I can understand her point of view - there is indeed something violating about having a car toot or someone whistle at you walking down the street. But to take it to this article and complain about several events far outside the realm of sexual harrassment which would probably flatter many women, seems a little arrogant.

An interesting fact is people generally don't like the company of others who are overly sure of themselves because it makes them feel self conscious. And that's exactly what Samantha is talking about in her article - the problem is, if this is truly what she is objecting to, her writing it on a world arena multiplies her problem! (As shown by the some 5,000 people who commented negatively on the article in just 24 hours' time.)

There have been many reponses to her writing, including this review, and a beautifully satirical survey comparing her to the character of Derek Zoolander which I found amusing and very relevant to my current field of research.

Don't get me wrong - I don't criticise someone for feeling good about themselves, nor for embracing the change that comes with ageing. I just feel like putting it out there so strongly makes others feel a little hopeless. Perhaps Samantha Brick could do with a little bit of a reality check - perhaps wear a fat suit and some daggy clothes and she may face a whole different set of prejudices.