Who Says British Women Are Ugly?
According to a new global survey, British Women are among the ugliest in the world. Women's Editor Christen Pears asks people what they think.
LIZ Hurley and Catherine Zeta Jones grace the covers of magazines around the world. Their faces and figures are held up as ideals of female beauty yet, according to new research, British women are among the ugliest on the planet.
FHM magazine used its website to canvas opinions from across the globe and, according the 59,000 people who voted online, British women are downright ugly. Only Afghan women fared worse although surely it's difficult to tell behind their burkas.
Beauty stereotypes are nothing new. French women are renowned for their sense of style and chic while Americans are famous for their perfect grooming. But is it fair to make such sweeping generalisations on national lines?
Tanya Walton, who owns The Beauty Spot beauty salon in Durham City, says not. "Everyone looks different and it's absolutely impossible to say whether people from a particular country are ugly or beautiful. I've been in business a long time and I'm seeing a lot more women coming in for treatments. I don't think that's because they think they're ugly, it's because they want to look their best and they have a different lifestyle that allows them to do that.
"Even 20 years ago, it was only rich people who could afford beauty treatments but with more women working, they can afford it. They are bothered about how they look, they want to look after themselves.
"It's quite ridiculous to generalise. I think the readers of FHM magazine should open their eyes."
On the streets of Darlington, the feeling is the same. Martin Price, a 54-year-old computer technician, says: "There are lots of ugly women all over the world but there are lots of beautiful women too. It all depends what you think is beautiful.
"In America, everyone has plastic surgery and they all have their teeth done but because people don't do that over here, they assume British women are ugly. They're not, they're just different."
John Phelps, a 33-year-old plasterer from Ferryhill, adds: "You're always going to see some girls who are a bit ugly. Some are hideous but I actually think we have some of the most beautiful women in the world here. My girlfriend's stunning. She's got a great face, a great body and she dresses really well. I don't think she's the only one either. You just have to walk down the street to see there are beautiful women everywhere." So why do so many FHM readers feel British women are unattractive? It may have something to do with the idealised images of beauty we are constantly presented with in magazines, on television and in the cinema. In a recent magazine interview, British ER actress Alex Kingston said she felt ugly when she first moved to the US. With her strong features and tumbling curls, the star of the hit medical drama is extremely striking but because she didn't conform to the Hollywood beauty stereotype, she says she felt out of place. Other British actresses have transformed themselves in order to make it big in the movies. Catherine Zeta Jones has gone for old Hollywood-style glamour. She is never seen out without full make-up and is reported to have had plastic surgery on her eyelids. Minnie Driver lost weight, toned up her body and had her curls blow-dried straight but it is impossible for ordinary women to spend so much time and money on their looks. "I don't think these people are necessarily any more beautiful," says Louise Smith, a 44-year-old mother of two from Darlington. "A lot of it is about how you dress or how you do your hair. If you have the time to it, that's fine but most of us just can't fit it in. I put on a bit of foundation and lipstick before I go out, and I brush my hair, but that's it. "Anyway, who can say what's beautiful and what's not? In some cultures, women put hoops round their necks to stretch them or plates in their lips. To us, that's not beautiful, but to them it is." Louise's opinions reflect the famous adage, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and, of course, everyone has a different idea of what or who is attractive. Beauty fashions change just as regularly as clothes. In the early part of the 20th Century, everyone wanted pale skin but then Coco Chanel went on holiday and got a tan and suddenly, everyone wanted to be brown. In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe's pout and curvaceous figure epitomised female beauty but now everyone wants to look like Kate Moss or Gwyneth Paltrow. There is, however, a flip side to the coin and, all over the world, there are faces that people agree are beautiful. In 1993, anthropologists Douglas Jones and Kim Hill visited two isolated tribes in Paraguay and Venezuela to test the phenomenon. The tribes had seen very few people outside their own culture but Jones and Hill showed them a range of photos of women from various cultures and asked them to rate their beauty. These were compared with ratings from Russia, Brazil and the United States and, remarkably, people in all five countries were attracted to women with delicate jaws and chins and large eyes. Other cross-cultural studies have confirmed that women are regarded as beautiful if they have smooth skin, big eyes and plump lips.
So where does that leave British women who fared so badly in the poll? "You have to take a survey like that with a big pinch of salt," says Marie Cooper, of Darlington. "People make assumptions about what British women look like because of things they've heard. Some of the people who replied to the survey have probably never even met a British women so they can't possibly know. What's beautiful to one person might not be to someone else but if you're happy with what you look like, that's all that matters."
Reshmin Chowdhury Hailed For 'outstanding' Outfit Live On BBC As She Presents Women's World Cup
RESHMIN CHOWDHURY had viewers hailing her for her elegant outfit while on the BBC.
Chowdhury was presenting the broadcaster's coverage of the Women's World Cup match between Switzerland and New Zealand - which ended 0-0.
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Reshmin Chowdury donned a stunning blue dress for coverage of the Women's World Cup5
One fan said she looked 'outstanding'5
She was joined in the studio by Laura Georges and Jonas EidevallAnd fans were left impressed by both her work and her outfit.
Chowdhury donned a stunning dark blue outfit as she appeared alongside former France star Laura Georges and Arsenal Women's boss Jonas Eidevall.
Taking to her Twitter page, she admitted the trio did not intend on an "'Allez Les Bleus' look" - with all three wearing a different shade.
But fans online didn't seem to mind.
One wrote: "Outstanding look today Reshmin."
A second typed: "You looked beautiful as always Reshmin! ❤️😍😘."
"Cool blues 💙💙," remarked a third.
While another said: "Reshmin Chowdhury looking so beautiful and sexy! 🔥."
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Chowdhury is an award winning presenterCredit: The SunChowdhury, 45, also works on TNT - formerly BT Sport - and talkSPORT as a presenter.
She has also presented the Champions League draw, revealing the perils of the draw in a 2019 column for SunSport.
In 2015 Chowdhury - who is of British-Banglesdishi descent - won the Media Award at the Asian Football Awards.
Her coverage of the World Cup made her the latest presenter to leave fans enamoured with the tournament.
Both Alex Scott and Laura Woods on BBC and ITV respectively have had fans dazzled during their coverage, with one fan declaring they were "knocking it out of the park".
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Pretty Much All Women Lie, But For Way Different Reasons Than Men
"I'm fine."
"That dress looks great on you."
"...No, really, it looks great!"
As women, we lie all the time — sometimes to other people, but more often to ourselves.
It's not that we're bad people. The most common reason women lie is far more complicated than that. In fact, we often don't even know we are lying, we think it's a part of our personality.
Why do women lie?While men usually lie to get something they want (such as sex or career advancement), women usually lie to hide the truth for the sake of survival.
The most common reason women lie is for protection.This is done either for their own protection or for the protection of someone else, known as compassionate lying or compassionate deception.
We try to rationalize these lies and rename them as fibs, saying they aren't hurting anyone and that it's the kind thing to do.
Susan Shapiro Barash, author of Little White Lies, Deep Dark Secrets: The Truth About Why Women Lie, says, "Women still feel the need to lie as a coping or survival mechanism."
Women lie so they don't have to process negative feelings, such as the woman with an abusive husband who lies to herself when he touches her so harshly there are bruises: He didn't mean to hurt me — he's not a violent person.
"Sometimes these internal lies are even subconscious because the truth is just too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves," added Barash.
Sometimes women lie to make things better.This type of lie is known as a betterment lie.
As Barash clarifies, "It typically involves women doing what they feel they simply have to do for the people they love."
Sometimes women lie to ensure their security.Barash also speaks about the survival lie (or the soap opera lie), which is used to keep a secret that's too big for honesty.
This may be a lie that a woman believes is necessary to protect her current living situation, such as the reason she was fired from a job or how her baby was conceived when their partner was out-of-town.
Women may lie to protect their image.Dawn Maslar, M.S., author of From Heartbreak to Heart's Desire: Developing a Healthy GPS (Guy Picking System), says all women lie and most don't even know it.
Recounting an exchange she had with an audience at one of her talks, she writes:
"I then asked, 'How many of you would like to date a nice, sweet, kind man?' Hands started going up. I then said, 'Let me put it another way. How many of you would like to date an arrogant, flashy guy?' The hands went down. In fact, not a single woman raised her hand. I pointed this out, stating, 'Not one of you raised your hand and that's why you lie.'"
Maslar points to a study from the University of British Columbia which found a wide gap between what a woman say they want in a partner and the type they are actually attracted to. Whereas most women would likely tell you they want a man who is kind, happy and considerate, "The study found that women were least attracted to smiling, happy men, preferring those who looked proud and powerful or moody and ashamed."
Related Stories From YourTango:Are women she lying to themselves, or do they not want to look bad by admitting the type they're really attracted to?
Lies can protect us, but the truth can empower us and make us stronger.
On the other hand, there's no reason not to practice kindness, both toward yourself and toward other people.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer who's articles have been published in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman's Day.
