Ugly and Smart, Pretty and Dumb: A Look at Stereotypes

Disclaimer: I use the word “Ugly” in this article, literally nobody is ugly, I use the word in the context of conventional beauty standards and what they say about beauty :)

Liberal and white feminism, and the way it functions, lives within the sphere of upholding other systems of oppression, whilst “dismantling” sexism. 

However saying that we can take down the patriarchy, whilst upholding other systems of oppression, is similar to the false logic behind being “socially liberal, fiscally conservative.” Those two things just can't happen at once. And although there might be some naively positive intentions behind both of those ideals, they are both based on the most minimal change possible, and the idea that touch-ups can fix a completely broken system. 

All of this to say, the white, capitalist, consumerist, heteronormative “girl boss” feminism has its flaws. 

Which leads me to the topic of today's blog post: Ugly and Smart, Pretty and Dumb: A Look at Stereotypes.

This topic has been on my mind for so long now and as the years wear on, so does society's perception of the two types of women: the pretty, dumb, homemaker and the smart, less conventionally attractive, workaholic. 

Femininity, who rejects it and accepts it plays into this stereotype and digs into what being femme, in any capacity, means. Further, the rejection of femininity is one that I often notice in the “girl boss” feminists, in attempts to distance themselves from being women entirely. And this pushing away or gravitating towards of femininity plays into what type of people are viewed by society as smart and dumb.

The male gaze also has a big part to play. Because how society is taught men view femininity has created these two category's.

To give an example as to how this stereotype works, let's take a look at some movie case studies. 

 First, we have pretty characters that are “dumb.” Examples include Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, Cher Horowitz from Clueless, Karen Smith from Mean girls, and Shelley from The House Bunny. Just to name a few. When lined up all of these characters look the same: blonde bombshells, which says a lot about beauty standards. Further, all of these characters are viewed as dumb and shallow at first glance, due to their looks and bubbly personalities, but in reality, they all are intelligent. Whether it's conventional like Elle or more of an empathetic intelligence like Karen. 

I, for one, used to have long blonde hair, a bubbly bright personality, and a love for fashion. Too often I felt like I was discounted as dumb and shallow simply because of these factors of my personality and look. I have even noticed myself making assumptions about other girls' intelligence based on these same factors. 

Obviously, as a privileged white woman, being thought of as dumb weighs lightly on the scale of oppression, but this example and experience just proves that these ideals, which are so heavily peddled to us in the media, do affect how women move through the world. 

Does beauty come at a cost of losing self-worth? Does trying so hard to fit in the mold the patriarchy shoves us into subconsciously make us dumb ourselves down? And does all of this come down to men's fear of being lesser than a woman, in any capacity?

All of these questions have layered, complicated, and difficult answers, for which there are many people far more qualified to explain than I. But, what I can say, is none of this matters. Fitting into a mold or not, being eurocentrically beautiful or not, being perceived as smart or not. All that matters is if what you are doing makes you happy and if you are satisfied and fulfilled with yourself.