Attractiveness, my ass.

Sometimes I worry that what I post here will be held against me by those who read it. But is that really fair? I'm a firm believer in three things when it comes to blogs: 1)If it's on the internet, then it's for everyone to see. 2)If you don't want someone to read something don't say it, and 3)Nothing you say on a blog should be held against you. But still I feel as though I should watch what I say, just in case. Fortunately for you, unfortunately for me, I don't really own a filter. So here goes. I was just on Formspring and I saw someone who was asked this question: "whats your favorite quality and feature of some1 you like?" Their answer? Attractiveness. And it saddens me so much. Why is it that we've allowed ourselves as a society to place so much emphasis on looks? And don't give me that bullshit about how "attractiveness could be personality" because if that's the case, we'd say our favorite quality was a good personality. It just breaks my heart. And it's not just this one person... it's so many people. A person is judged on how thin they are, how clear their skin is, how nice their hair is or how big their tits are. Do they have abs? Do they have a million dollar smile? Seriously? That isn't fair. I know so many girls and guys who are overlooked because they don't fit this model description. And it really and truly breaks my heart. I struggle with my own body image because of people like this. I was picked on as a kid and eventually developed an eating disorder because of it. It's hard not being a size two when you are constantly reminded by others that attractiveness is the most important quality to have. And here I am, five years after I thought I was done hating myself, realizing that in our society, attractiveness is still what I'm being judged on. What about intelligence, independence and the ability to love yourself? I wonder if that even exists anymore...I hope my children grow up in a world that will embrace them despite their flaws, and I hope more than anything that when they are old and gray and reflect on their favorite attribute of themselves and others, it is anything but their appearance that they proclaim.