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If you haven’t already read it, I suggest that you do so now.

Being an avid reader of the Daily Mail online, I am constantly reading the latest gossip in the “femail” section in an attempt to spark a feature idea to write myself.  I find this rather difficult as I tend to only like writing about topics that really get people talking, ones that are controversial and have numerous discussions to be made.  It was yesterday that a particular article written by Samantha Brick stood out to me more than any other features presented.  The heading alone caught my attention: “There are downsides to looking this pretty: Why women hate me for being beautiful”.  My initial reaction to these words was that this woman must be really beautiful to have this many women hate her.  As I scrolled down, I saw the photo of her and thought to myself that she was just average looking, although attractive.  Don’t get me wrong, when I see a beautiful woman I’ll be the first to point out she’s stunning and someone I’d love to look like.  I’ll admit that the green eyed monster within me rises too, but at least I can say I can appreciate a pretty woman.  I know it sounds awfully judgmental of me and perhaps a little stereotypical, but I was expecting to see a 6ft tall, blonde bombshell or amazonian beauty, not the woman before me telling this story.  But then again, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I found the whole thing rather embarrassing and painful to read as I kept cringing at what she was saying.  I couldn’t quite make out if this woman was just really arrogant or whether she was just comfortable in her own skin and had the confidence to really sell herself.  At the end of the day, who am I to judge what she looks like and what her opinions of herself are? She is obviously a strong minded character who feels the need to express what’s on her mind, I suppose I can’t slate her for that.  I guess she has a point in her own right.

If I’m honest, I was startled by my own reaction to her views.  I don’t think I’m a very judgmental person and I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but here I could find myself feeling a bit angry towards her.  How could this woman seem so up herself? Or was she just overcompensating to hide her real insecurities? Either way I shouldn’t judge, yet I feel an inclination to do so.  I guess in some ways I envy her confidence and wish that I too could feel just a smidgen of the confidence she radiates.

Anyway, I had a feeling this article was going to get people talking, especially women.  I just wasn’t aware of the lengths that people would go to hurt this woman.  I think in the female world there has and always will be jealousy among us all, some hide it better than others, the latter will lash out and mock as their way of dealing with it.  No matter how one tries to hide the jealousy, in one way or another it will eventually show.  And today, that jealousy or whatever powerful emotion this article has triggered in people, has been shown.

It has caused a huge backlash and uproar in society with people flocking to Twitter and the comment section of her article, to mock and criticise her.  She has had 4890 comments on the article and numerous tweets, most of which are nasty, spiteful and undermining.  Both men and women have stooped so low in criticising her for her looks, her opinions and the overall article itself.  Having read some of these comments myself, I am horrified that such a mass of people could come together and essentially bully a woman for speaking what’s on her mind.  I am also ashamed to say that some of these opinions had been initially thought by myself but I daren’t express them and I’m certainly not proud of them.  I feel sorry for her and pity those who feel the need to express their anger towards her so publicly.  I am aware that she has put herself on the line to be publicly criticised but does that make it right to do so? I’d like to think not.

Perhaps this is exactly the response Brick wanted to make her story plausible.  However, my underlying feelings are that people aren’t necessarily jealous of her, they just don’t know how to accept the high opinions she has on herself.  After all, it is hard to believe that someone can be so sure of herself but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s in the wrong.  Perhaps they feel she is boasting or bragging when she needs to put her feet back firmly on the ground and keep such a strong statement to herself.  Then again, she’s a journalist for a reason, she has certainly got people talking.  And I get the feeling that it’s going to be talked about for quite some time.

My overall feeling on the whole topic is that it has all got very out of hand.  Anyone is entitled to their own opinions and especially when it comes to opinions of themselves, but perhaps sometimes these feelings are best kept to their own minds.  Not everyone is ready for such strong statements and as a result, someone is always going to have something to say that isn’t necessarily going to be pleasant.  Then again, maybe it’s the general public that have it all wrong.  Perhaps we should be thinking as positively about ourselves as she is, maybe she is the one with the right attitude and we’re just too pessimistic to see, understand and accept it.

I feel that people need to be made more aware of how they’re coming across online and how their views can deeply hurt someone, whether they believe they deserve it or not shouldn’t matter.  Twitter, as great as it can be, does have its faults.  It has become an easy way out for people to communicate what they’re feeling and expressing their dominant views.  Not only that but it has become a way to essentially virally bully someone very publicly.  I think people forget just how much of an impact trending on Twitter does actually have on us and the media.  Though Brick set out to write an interesting and controversial article, I feel it has backfired more than she could have ever imagined and now I feel it’s time that people brush their views under the carpet and leave it as yesterdays news.  No-body deserves to get that amount of criticism.  She has feelings and is only human after all.

What was your reaction to the article?

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