Beauty to be feared?

A few weeks ago, I read in a book that many women fear their beauty. My first reaction to reading that statement was "How stupid. What is there to fear about being beautiful? Beautiful people are confident and self-assured. Beauty in itself is a good thing, right? There is no need to be afraid of it". Fortunately I am not always as ignorant as my first reactions often are, and after thinking about this statement a little more I understand why many women fear their beauty. Beauty is powerful. Beauty can be dangerous. Beauty has the ability to invite and to captivate. I'm not talking about physical beauty exclusively, although obviously that is important. The most beautiful women are the ones who show you their heart. Who allow you to see their passion, their vulnerability and their fragile strength. These women shine with such a beauty that cannot be described. I have so many beautiful friends who fit this description perfectly. They may have just rolled out bed, not bothered to brush their hair or apply any makeup, they will be wearing a baggy track suit with traces of Vegemite toast on the collar... but they are still the most beautiful women, because complete beauty is not confined to the physical. So if beauty is such a wonderful thing that transcends what we define as physical beauty, why do many of us fear it? There are a few reasons that I can think of... there's probably more than what I will list here, so feel free to add others. I think that the most obvious one is the effect that feminine beauty has on men. In the appropriate context, a man's gentle and wordless response to a woman's beauty is a safe and lovely thing. Yet as women we know all too well that this often isn't the case. We'll walk along the strand and men will yell what they probably think are compliments to us from their cars. We'll walk through Stockies and look straight ahead, trying to ignore the lingering glances. We'll drive our cars and have to put up with men almost breaking their necks from looking in our direction as they drive past. It's degrading. It's humiliating. It makes you feel like an object. Now this isn't a conceited thing. Please don't misinterpret this to mean that I am boasting about all of the male attention we receive because of our stunning beauty. There is nothing flattering about this kind of attention. You cannot find any kind of security or gratification in the shallow words or stares of a stranger. You can try, but it fades into nothing. Now as most of you know... I am a massive bogan. My hair is notoriously messy and although I will sometimes wear a skirt, I've spent the last 3 months living in jeans and baggy jumpers. I am quite content with my boganosity. Yet despite all of this, I know that I am not alone in saying that this kind of degradation is something I have to deal with almost everyday. So why do we fear beauty? Because it elicits responses that we would love to avoid at all costs. Yet it doesn't matter how much of a bogan we are, it seems that we are powerless in the face of this treatment. Wow.. I'm sounding like a bit of a feminist aren't I? Trust me, I'm not. Hairy-underarmed, bra-burning, tofu-inhaling feminists are high on my list of things that I could live without. There are lots of things about feminism that I don't agree with. But the reality is that sometimes being a woman is just plain hard.Another reason that we fear beauty is because we don't want it to obscure the way that others perceive us. We don't want to be defined by our looks. We don't want our looks to overshadow the people that we are. We want people to delve deeper and to see what we have to offer in who we are, beyond what we look like. We want people to pursue friendships and relationships with us because of our internal qualities, not because they are motivated by external beauty.So you're probably wondering what my point is. Don't worry, you wouldn't be the first. Am I saying that beauty is bad and that we should walk around in cloth bags? Of course not. Beauty is undeniably powerful, and for that reason it is sometimes feared, and I think it's important to understand this. However beauty isn't only powerful in a negative light. Nature is a perfect example of this. The primary purpose of nature is beauty. The indescribable sight of a sunset has no functional purpose other than to provide beauty. Sure the sun needs to rise and set everyday... but the glorious display that we are so privileged to witness everyday serves no other role than that of displaying immeasurable beauty. Beauty can comfort. If we take a moment to stop our hectic lives and to just appreciate the beauty that we are surrounded with the effect is quite incredible. This beauty is found in the wonder of creation, in a hug from your closest friend, in the laughter of a child, in a selfless act from a loved one... there are so many things through which we can glimpse true beauty and feel reassured and comforted. Beauty is a powerful yet wonderful thing. It is also horribly misunderstood. Frequently abused, disregarded and underestimated. It is not always found in physical appearance. Sometimes it is... although this is only the beginning of discovering who a person is. There is so much more that makes up who we are. As women we have so much more to offer than physical beauty, yet this is so often forgotten.Well that's enough ramblings from me for one day. Please feel free to talk about anything you disagree with or agree with or whatever. Sweet. :)