When you look in the mirror every morning, do you stand there and criticize your appearance? I know we all have our negative thoughts in the morning that go something like: "Eh, that spot still isn't pop-able," or, "I ate McDonalds last night, do I look any fatter? No? OK, good."
However, after reading Tanni Grey-Thompson's entry in the "What I see in the mirror" feature in The Guardian, I wanted to scream. I've never read this feature before, but other women like Jade Goody and Sheila Rowbotham have written what they "see" when they "look in the mirror" and I just find it all terribly depressing.
Tanni described this Saturday that she "wishes" that she had "more time to look better", like the rest of the "glamorous" women she sees dropping off their kids at school who all have their "hair and makeup done". Apparently Tanni also hates her ears, her wrinkles, has always wanted "long hair you could flick, like the girls in the shampoo ads". While I'm sure a lot of women would find this an honest and raw account of how most women feel about themselves, I don't feel like commending any of the women who have written for this feature on their "honesty", but am left wondering why women think it's second nature to hate themselves so much?
I know most women "hate" something about their body. Whether it's their weight, their nose, their ears, their hair or the corns on their feet, we all have our own "body issues". Call me crazy, but I don't believe that every woman just sees a kaleidescope of flaws when they look in the mirror every morning.
As a society, we're very accepting of women complaining about their bodies. We're supposed to hate ourselves, and every women's magazines near the checkout stand confirms it. So, I can't help but wonder if women like Tanni who have written for the "What I see when I look in the mirror" thought that if they were to write that they like their breast size or are happy with something, anything on their bodies that they would have been written off as being arrogant, lying, or full of it.
Unfortunately, because women hating their bodies is so "natural" and "normal", even when we do admit that we're happy with our weight or love our crooked noses, no one believes us. I suppose then, realistically, if Tanni and Jade couldn't have written a positive description of what they see in the mirror because firstly, people will judge and think they're lying, and secondly - women writing positively about their bodies doesn't really seem to sell newspapers, does it?
I only hope that the next woman to write for this feature can write about something she loves about herself, as for those of us who are sick of hearing women tear apart their own looks, it would be incredibly refreshing.
Cate Sevilla is a freelance writer in London, and regular contributer to Dollymix.tv.
