Who is
she? Well just over a week ago, virtually no-one knew who she was…..until she
wrote the article “'There are downsides to looking this pretty': Why women hate me for being
beautiful”.
‘Highlights’
of her article include:
“Throughout my
adult life, I’ve regularly had bottles of bubbly or wine sent to my restaurant
table by men I don’t know. Once, a well-dressed chap bought my train ticket
when I was standing behind him in the queue, while there was another occasion
when a charming gentleman paid my fare as I stepped out of a cab in Paris.”
“And whenever I’ve asked what I’ve done to deserve such treatment, the
donors of these gifts have always said the same thing: my pleasing appearance
and pretty smile made their day.”
“While I’m no
Elle Macpherson, I’m tall, slim, blonde and, so I’m often told, a good-looking
woman. I know how lucky I am. But there are downsides to being pretty — the
main one being that other women hate me for no other reason than my lovely
looks.”
“If you’re a woman reading this, I’d hazard that you’ve already formed your
own opinion about me — and it won’t be very flattering. For while many doors
have been opened (literally) as a result of my looks, just as many have been
metaphorically slammed in my face — and usually by my own sex.”
“And it is not just jealous wives who
have frozen me out of their lives. Insecure female bosses have also barred me
from promotions at work.”
“Unfortunately women find nothing more annoying than someone else being the
most attractive girl in a room.”
“I find that
older women are the most hostile to beautiful women — perhaps because they feel
their own bloom fading.”
“So now I’m 41
and probably one of very few women entering her fifth decade welcoming the
decline of my looks. I can’t wait for the wrinkles and the grey hair that will
help me blend into the background.”
“Perhaps then the sisterhood will finally stop judging me so harshly on
what I look like, and instead accept me for who I am.”
You can read the entire article and see what Samantha looks like here.
Needless to say, this article has caused controversy…….women
and men have all thrown in their 2 pennies worth. A few of the comments left on
the article:
“I don't judge on
looks, but this writer seems so deluded, I thought perhaps she needed a reality
check. Sorry if this sounds mean, but the writer is not that attractive. In
fact, she is only marginally ok looking. Her arrogance, however, is
breathtaking. Perhaps the reason that other women don't like her is because she
comes across as an unlikeable self-obsessed narcissist?” – Annie from
Toronto Canada
“Is this an
article written for April 1st? Unbelieveable! If it is serious, and the DM have
actually paid for this load of pap, then I have a message to Samantha - Get
over yourself dear, you're actually a lot less attractive than you evidently
think you are. No doubt this will be explained away because I'm jealous, fat
and ugly.” – JeannieJeannie, France
“Looks average to
me, bit of a dreamer perhaps.” – Les, Leeds
“Other women cannot stand her because she
is warm and has a sunny nature. Beauty is not only looks but attitude and a
kindheart, men are attracted to her because she has a sweet sunny nature. She
is not an ice queen. The jealousy of other women is what makes them ugly. They
cannot bear loveliness because it shows how rotten they are.” – Ella,
Croydon Surrey
“This article has
truth in it. Gotta love the jealous women clawing at each other. Women hate
another woman prettier than them, or they become friends with them to try and
get some of their friend's male attention.” – Dave, Bristol
The backlash was
such that she did a follow up article confirming that she was right in her
assertions - you can read it here.
Here are a couple
of quotes from the second article:
“While I've been shocked and hurt by the global
condemnation, I have just this to say: my detractors have simply proved my
point. Their level of anger only underlines that no one in this world is more
reviled than a pretty woman.”
“Without doubt, this is a gender issue.
For not only is it mostly women who are attacking me, it is also because I am
female that I am being attacked for acknowledging my attractiveness.”
When I read the original
article and looked at its author, I laughed. She is definitely not ugly, but I couldn’t
see what the excitement was about. Yes, she is good looking for a woman of her
age…the blue eyes and the bottle blonde hair certainly help her. But I view her
as a Plain Jane. To think that women are jealous of her and threatened by her
average looks are probably down to their own insecurities rather than her self-proclaimed
lush appearance. I thought that some of her comments were rude and arrogant – this
in turn made her less attractive.
I discussed it with friends, who also found it
puzzling how this woman could really view herself in such a way. One friend went
so far as to say she had “psychological deficits”!
The
articles have since got me thinking:
Do
women as a whole really dislike attractive women?
Is
it her looks or ‘confidence’/personality that women are apparently threatened by?
Was
she correct in making those assertions?
Should she treated in this manner for these bold comments?
Do
I have ‘Samantha Bricks’ in my life? Am I threatened by them?
Can
I blame her for thinking this way?
Like
I said before, she is not ugly; she is certainly not a threat (to me anyway)
but I have seen far more beautiful people than her. The contents of her
articles are quite audacious, but she is a big and knew that that it would
cause controversy – the results were never going to be pretty. I urge you to
read both articles………
They
say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”……well beholders, what do you think?
*so 10 days later i realise i've got the woman's surname wrong - it's Brick not Bright! so silly of me......