Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Benefits of Insecurity

Sunday night, a friend of mine presented me with an interesting question. She asked, "Do males worry about their appearance as much as females do?" My answer, of course, was no. She then wondered why, and I told her that men aren't subjected to the same physical standards and expectations that women are. Whether fair or unfair, women are often judged by their looks. While a favorable appearance surely benefits a man, I feel that males are judged more by their wit & personality than simply by how attractive they are. (My views on these judgment differences apply not only to judgment in romantic situations, but also to the ways we are judged in the work force. Men are rarely hired for their good looks, and women often complain about their struggles to be taken seriously as intellectuals.)

Our back and forth eventually led to the topic of insecurity; specifically, are men as insecure as women? And is media to blame for all of our insecurities??