Since the beginning of time, women have been expected to reach for unrealistic standards of beauty. Social media, magazines, newspapers, TV, and movies have all contributed to pushing this idea that women need to look a certain way in order to be accepted and deemed “beautiful” by society.
Women are expected to be skinny with glowing skin, totally hairless, and all-around perfect. These ridiculous notions have been thrust upon girls and women, and they often leave an indelible mark.
In a recent Reddit thread, women from all over the world got super vulnerable as they shared what it’s like to be considered “ugly” or “less attractive.”
Needless to say, the answers got pretty heavy. These women have been dealing with low self-esteem, being treated horribly by friends, overlooked in the workplace, and dismissed by strangers.
Here are 20 of those answers.
1. Being invisible
Being invisible next to your friends. They’re all having fun and you just sit there and no one is talking to you.
2. You’re so “brave”
People thinking that you don’t have the right to like yourself or thinking that your confidence is “brave.” F–k off. Ugly isn’t cancer.
3. Backhanded compliments
I hate when people comment or say “I wanna have your self esteem/confidence!” as if it was a compliment. It isn’t, they’re just using other words to call the person ugly.
4. Job troubles
Less job opportunities. Attractiveness plays a part in getting hired.
5. Not to mention…
And in pay.
6. Unsolicited health advice
Unsolicited weight loss/health advice, that is often wrong and does not consider my health at all.
7. …and about men
Unsolicited advice on how to be attractive to men.
8. Double standards
If a skinny, pretty girl dresses like a “bum” it’s cute and trendy, but if I do it I’m lazy and don’t care about my looks.
9. Crappy friends
“Friends” constantly joking about how I don’t get guys, even though I was in a relationship before all of them, lol. We’re not friends anymore for obvious reasons.
10. Photo anxiety
The intense anxiety that arises during family events when it’s photo time. My cousins are all very beautiful and love posting to Instagram and all that. My family is big on photos. I’m the only one who isn’t photogenic at all. I have a lazy eye and my face is just generally asymmetrical.
Also losing contact with a lot of old friends because I don’t have Instagram, Facebook, or anything. If I was more attractive, I’d feel more comfortable posting photos of myself online and be able to have an Instagram.
Also, it’s really fucking annoying when people try to tell me I’m not ugly. For the most part, I’ve accepted it and have realized I have value when it comes to other parts of me, like my personality. But people want to force me into thinking I’m attractive and I’m just not lol. And I can always tell they’re saying it to be nice and not because they actually think it.