Staff Editorial
Women before and throughout recorded history have sacrificed, even mutilated, their bodies for the sake of fashion. When women look good, they feel good, but they should not sacrifice their mental and physical health just to fulfill societal pressures.
Catherine de Medici is accredited with the invention of the very first high heel shoe back in the 1500s. She was getting ready to marry the Duke of Orleans, but at the age of 14 she was a little on the short side. Riding shoes at the time had heels for the rider to stay in the stirrup, but she started an unrelenting trend making heels more fashionable than functional.
Society’s definition of beauty is stereotypically physical and changes erratically — often pushing women to ignore themselves to fill in the status quo. They ignore their bodies and minds to fit societal molds. From foot binding to corsets to the Wonderbra, feminists and non-feminists can agree that women have gone to extremes to impress a man or show respect at a social occasion.
Wearing heels for a dance every once in a while or buying a light dress for summer can be harmless, but allowing an obsession with one’s looks can be fatal. There is nothing beautiful about a woman so skinny her bones are visible beneath pale stretched skin. A woman is not respected for how big she can make her bosom look. A woman’s appearance does not define her relationships, and her beauty does not necessarily convey her decency as a person.
On CSH’s homepage, the school’s purpose is summarized. “Convent is dedicated to the education of young women and their intellectual, spiritual & social development.” A woman’s inner-beauty, the factors that decide how she will be accepted beyond society’s demands for pretty women, are what will determine their happiness. Intellect, spiritual balance and an ability to work with society as a system matter more than caring about how a woman is seen physically.
At the end of the day, women are still ultimately judged by the way they look, but they do not have to go to extremes to maintain their role in the home and pursue their rising presence as leaders. The modern woman can take care of the children, hold a job and look beautiful all the same.
Trade the heels for flats. Do not skip lunch. Inner-beauty is not a fair trade for looking cute.
