What's beauty got to do with it?

I read the following comment from one of the people that have commented on this blog and I was so taken aback by the eloquence and focus that I think it deserves recognition...and further contemplation:
**************************************************************************

The focus on appearance is an interesting topic. There has occasionally been some good discussion before it degenerates into character assassination and random uncalled for comments directed towards specific individuals. The problem comes from the fact that the magazines are all about marketing, and beautiful people and ideal looking lifestyles will sell. So, for someone wanting to be published, it becomes a serious topic to be considered because if one doesn't fit that mold, it could possibly (and I say that since I have no sure knowledge) make a difference in whether or not someone is published.

There's a lot of talk about wanting to see "real life" in the magazines, but let's face it. In this particular industry, "real life" doesn't sell. I think many of us are brought up to believe that utopia can happen if we work hard enough. So we buy magazines that show us beautiful people, beautiful homes, beautiful lifestyles and beautiful layouts that we too can have if we work hard enough.I think this holds true much more when it comes to your "celebrity" scrapbookers, which has been brought up repeatedly. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as a topic because you can only agree or disagree before everyone starts naming names.

Anyway, maybe I'm being a little Pollyanna, but I'm hoping that all of these blogs are opening some eyes and will lead to improvements. And I'm hoping that it comes to a point where we can have good, honest discussion without all of the vulgarities and insults. Do we really have so little of substance to share, especially among a group of women who have a hobby in common, that we have to result to school yard behavior? I'd like to think we do.
Anonymous
**************************************************************************

I too have been reduced to shaking my head in shame and embarrassment when I look at the way that this hobby has evolved into yet another manifestation of the superficiality that runs rampant in our society.

I think that the poster hit on something when she said that "real life"doesn't sell. Look at the 'scripted' reality TV series that we are being bombarded with. The marketing gurus of the industry are looking for more and more ways to make money, and the scrapbooking industry is suffering under the weight of it's sudden "Extreme Makeover".

Honestly, I would identify more with a scrapper that I saw in a mag if I could see myself identifying with her on a human level first. The fact that the industry has become entangled in the appearance game has pretty much turned me away from it. Instead of trying to force feed us their perception of what a perfectly scrappy person/lifestyle would look like, I think that shift of focus in in order. Perhaps the first step in the restructuring should be that WE start dictating to THEM what a perfectly scrappy life is.

You would think that considering the demographic for the magazines, the editors would've thought it through better. Seriously, the magazines are primarily for scrapbookers who are, as a majority, women. Do we have to be bombarded with images of the "worthy' beautiful people when we are looking at scrap mags? What does something as benign as GOD seeing fit to retrofit me with a beaker instead of a petite nose have to do with my personal level of talent?

Some would argue that magazines like Vogue are just as guilty, but I think it's cabbage and tomatoes. Cosmo is focuses on fashion and some of that fashion is geared towards a particular (highly unattainable without starvation) body type. Therefore, there is a need for that body type to be represented in the image offerings. To use the same business model for scrapbooking is essentially saying that we can't obtain the levels of desired accomplishment without being physically "marketable' for the magazine/company. It's yet another medium that is sending an exclusionary message to the female masses. That message is one that whispers of inadequacy and shortcomings. That message is that talent isn't the most important prerequisite. But do you really need to be a bombshell supermom to step foot on the industry ladder? What does that have to do with anything that is important to the scrapbooker?

For some reason, all of this is tying right back to the almighty dollar. It really isn't a surprise that the backlash is such that it is. Long gone are the days when we would just sit in the eaves content to see another sister succeed. Today, we can discern that our level of talent is comparable to what we are being sold, and in doing this, we've begun to make our way through the multi-layered industry smokescreen and see the truth of the situation. That truth doesn't necessarily nurture the sisterhood; rather, it seems to only work to rip it apart. By taking our differences and using them as a means to divide instead of unify, the industry has helped create this monster.

BUT! Before we all start shouting in unified voices of revolt, we must turn that finger of blame at ourselves as well. The industry's machinations are only as powerful as we allow them to be. Some have fallen hook line and sinker for the 'standards' and have thus begun to hold their own courts in which they judge a fellow scrapbooker by her physical appearance. It's one thing to stereotype, it's another thing to call another human being ugly and untalented. I would be hard pressed NOT to believe that anyone who is capable of tying physical appearance and artistic talent together is truly a case study in human insecurity. Honestly, what directional choice does the industry have when personal attacks based on appearance are witnessed? The cry for the 'average, everyday' scrapbooker to be represented is pretty darned loud, but equally as loud are the blatantly superficial, borderline racist personal attacks that reverberate from some of these same scrappers.

Whatever happened to everyone being beautiful in their own right? What ever happened to 'if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing? Whatever happened to the belief that beauty is only skin deep?

Here's a question: Are the personal attacks that some are subjected to a result of something besides apathy for their being in the spotlight? Is the 'you're ugly, therefore you're unvalidated' attitude serving any purpose other than to lend credence to the negative stereotypes about crafters/scrapbookers? I know, women are known to be 'catty' at times, but that is a matter of personal choice and is not genetic or otherwise inherent. So why are so many of us choosing to follow this destructive course of behaviour? Is it really easier to tear down others? Is there really more emotional benefit to devaluing someone based on something that person has little control over?