By Rose U., TIWP Student

Having grown up in what some might consider an oppressive society, maybe even dystopian, I’ve found that beauty standards are deeply entwined with patriarchal society. Further, the attractiveness of a person is associated with their morality, a false narrative that’s been pushed for generations. Worse, forgiveness of a man’s unattractiveness is a privilege that is never granted to unattractive women.

This is a standard we’re surrounded by in our culture. Simply look at movies. Villains are portrayed as ugly while heroes are portrayed as attractive. In fact, attractive women are sometimes even portrayed as vain. Women are often characterized as ridiculously evil, while men are portrayed as morally gray.

Simply look at Disney movies. A distinct difference in the portrayal of vanity or arrogance is with two different villains, Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, and The Evil Queen from Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. Even their names are evident of the double standards that favor men and punish women.
Gaston, an arrogant brute characterized by humorous obsession with his looks, is given more motive than obsession with his looks. He’s rewarded with depth to his character, and is even admired by the village people. He has a strong fan base who dismisses his selfishness because, as they describe, he’s attractive. He’s designated an entire song, called “Gaston,” because of a rejection.

However, a similarly vain female character is not rewarded with that same forgiveness. The Evil Queen is starkly different from Gaston entirely. She’s isolated in a small castle, with no one to talk to and no one to but servants and a Magic Mirror. Her entire motivation is to be the “fairest in the land,” which teaches young girls that seeking beauty – or even caring about it – is something wicked. Just look at Snow White, the only other female character in the entire film. She’s elegant, humble, but also beautiful. She’s resurrected by a prince because of her beauty. However, unlike the Evil Queen, she doesn’t care about it, making her the protagonist of the film. In addition, in the film, men are allowed to be unattractive, and are still considered heroes. The Seven Dwarves of the movie are hard-working, and they help Snow White. Like the Evil Queen, they, too, are characterized by defining traits, but instead of “Evil,” they’re called “Grumpy” or “Bashful.” This isn’t in defense of the Evil Queen by any means. It’s just to say that women would never be defined by adjectives such as these. Instead of “grumpy,” language is much harsher and unforgiving. Women are “bitches.” My point is that the forgiveness of being unattractive is something that is never given to women. In fact, circling back to The Beauty and the Beast, men can be literal BEASTS and it’s acceptable because they’re men.