Over the weekend, Scottish
singing sensation (try saying that 5 times fast!) Susan Boyle was
interviewed by
The Times of London and asked a
question that had nothing to do with her voice, talent, personal
history, career, or even where she sees herself in 5 years. The
British paper, like so many others the world over, wanted to know
if the 47-year-old was considering a makeover. In fact, in the past
week, ever since she appeared on the "Britain's Got
Talent" stage wearing a less-than-sultry gold lace dress,
belted out "I Dreamed a Dream," and made notoriously
surly judge Simon Cowell swoon, this beauty business has become a
dominant theme in The Susan Boyle story. Bloggers,
entertainment shows, legitimate news outlets, and tabloid magazines
alike have all dissected the issue ad nauseam, publishing
exhaustive commentary, running reader polls and even
performing their own unnerving virtual makeovers.
Um, like this one, which originally ran on the
Chicago Tribune's website and is a collaboration
between Dailymakeover.com and Extra TV. Though the folks at the
Trib said they'd prefer Boyle to stay the way she is,
they considered a real-life makeover "inevitable" and
therefore suggested she go with the bob look at far right.
Let's really think about
this for a second. Why does Susan Boyle need a makeover? Is she
capable of executing her lovely gift of song without a blowout,
lipgloss, and swanky clothes? Yes. Will the world ever take her
seriously (ie not condescend her and treat her like some
country-bumpkin imbecile the way every interview I've seen so
far has done) if she continues on au naturel? Perhaps not. In case
you hadn't noticed, in 2009 every female singer who comes out
of anywhere is expected to undergo some sort of gorgeousness
transformation. It's understood covertly and even spoken about
overtly that in order to succeed in the music business, one needs a
certain image. And that image must be feminine, sexy, thin, and
wearing a lot of makeup. Consider Carrie Underwood and Kelly
Clarkson. I mean, need we say more? These were once normal-looking
girls.
The larger question in all of this becomes: Have we become so
collectively superficial that we can no longer accept entertainers
who are not styled and polished? We equate fame and celebrity
with sparkly beauty to a degree that it seems downright
unimaginable that someone who
could get Chiclet teeth,
fancy hair, and a fabulous wardrobe would choose not to. It's
suspicious. Vanity and making yourself as beautiful as you can
possibly be is a mark of success in our society, at any age, often
more important than talent. How could anyone NOT want a new nose,
Botox, and laser-hair-removed eyebrows? That does not compute!
As for Boyle, she has yet to feed into the beauty frenzy. Her
answer to the
Times was resolute:
“I’m content with the way I look. What’s wrong with looking like
Susan Boyle? What’s the matter with that? I’m just an ordinary
person trying to make it as a professional singer. I really don’t
want to change all that much. Why should it matter as long as I can
sing? It’s not a beauty contest.”
Oh, lady. If it was only that simple.
Source:
Times Online
