Witchy Woman

Bronn and I were watching an episode of The Pretender called "Nip and Tuck." A beautiful teenage girl's face was severely disfigured in an accident and was distraught over it. At first he couldn't understand why she was so upset. I pointed out that as women we are valued in society for our appearance first and everything else comes second. Don't believe me? Check out any magazine stand at your local supermarket.

She had been pretty, popular, and outgoing. She was just now learning how disfigured/disabled people are treated as half-people whereas before she had everything going for her.

Some might say that it would be particularly hard going through that in high school and how fragile our self-esteem is at that stage. I believe that the state of one's self-esteem at that age is a result of beginning to realize how much importance is placed on being thin, pretty, and fitting the ludicrously unrealistic mold that society has created for us. In short, it's a case of nurture rather than nature.

As we get older, we learn to deal with our bodies. We resign ourselves to "this is what we're stuck with, let's make the best of it" leading to industries such as cosmetic surgery, anti-aging creams, and Botox.