The Curse of Beauty

The German quarterly business magazine Enorm ran, in a recent edition, an article on how fair capitalism appears to those who spent their early lives under the yoke of socialism in the former East German provinces. The two page report featured nine men and women who had started new businesses or advised others on the process of founding a business, with roughly one hundred words voicing their opinions and a photograph. Eight of the photographs showed those interviewed standing or sitting some distance from the camera. The ninth, a Public Relations Advisor who had started her own business, was shown looking over her shoulder, sitting in a comfortable chair, with the photograph placed centrally and considerably larger than the other eight. From the text offered, from the different businesses and opinions there was no great difference noticeable, but the ninth interviewee was beautiful, and the photographer had obviously taken some time with placement, pose and setting to project her in a better light, to enhance the complete article with a true eye-catcher.

Undoubtedly, for the Public Relations company at least, an added bonus since the reader's eye is drawn towards this one photograph, the others falling into shadow, and to the linked text describing both her experiences and business interests. For women in general, especially for women considered beautiful by the standards of society, this additional attention can be both a blessing and a curse depending on individual points of view and the circumstances. That many women enjoy the attention their looks attract, that they sometimes play to an audience is undisputable but, especially for the stars of stage and screen, there is a dividing line between work and leisure, between when their beauty should be admired and commented upon, and when they just wish to be themselves, away from the limelight and in private. In private beauty, or recognition, can have more drawbacks than advantages.

As a woman, especially one constantly in the public eye, appearance is of paramount importance. Standards of beauty and fashion - clothing and accessories - have been set and are constantly being pushed higher by the publicity machine of fashion designers, by film studios, magazine editors which, for many, are almost impossible to achieve or maintain. In addition Father Time and Mother Nature have a role to play which, no matter which lotions and creams are offered in countless beauty salons, cannot be held back for long. Once a woman is caught in the seemingly endless circle of beauty, once she lets herself be taken along for the ride, there is no going back. The fight against loss of beauty, loss of esteem in the public eye based exclusively on her looks, is doomed to failure and, forgotten by many throughout the business and film world, there are always queues of beautiful women waiting on the sidelines for their chance on the frontline.

For anyone who cannot adapt to the passage of time, to the reality of bitter competition, beauty can be more than a simple curse, it can become one of the most stressful endurance races of a person's life, from the moment the first wrinkle or gray hair appears through to the final acceptance that, no matter what, beauty is only skin deep. Some cannot accept these changes, are unprepared for the natural evolution of face and figure and struggle to maintain their perceived position despite all contrary signs almost to the level of an obsession. The curse of beauty can become a mental problem as beauty wears thin or changes, leaving the standards of a younger generation behind.

There is another curse associated with beauty, one which many people seem to overlook: the curse of not being beautiful enough according to the transitory standards and fashions of the day, of not quite having that final touch, that gleam, that smoothness, the eyebrows or eyelashes, lips, eyes, nose. The constant feeling that if just this one thing was slightly straighter - hair, nose - fuller - lips, eyelashes - thinner - figure, eyebrows - everything would be so much better. The greatest curse of all, though, is the inability to accept oneself, to see that everyone has their own beauty - be it visible or an inner beauty waiting to be discovered - and to bring it to the fore.

Viktoria Michaelis is an American student (born July 1992) currently resident in Germany studying Business Studies and Economics at Bremen University. She has had fictional works published in several anthologies and regularly writes in her personal Blog. Her collected articles are available to read at Viktoria Michaelis on a wide range of subjects from Beauty and Health, Politics and Copyright through to Women's Issues and Adult subjects.

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