beautiful women have it rough in america, part ii

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Stank troll Marta, always quick to poke me with a stick, sent me news of the book Beautiful People. In it, one of us mortals interviews, well, beautiful people. About what it's like being so darn beautiful.

Reflections on beauty by people who consent to reflect in a book entitled Beautiful People. Yep. I'll bet that's a veritable Algonquin Round Table.

Hold. Me. Back.

nicole.jpgGetting a curious amount of sympathy is Nicole, quite obviously lovely. See if you can guess which part I added.

"As I began to grow up, I noticed that I was receiving a lot of attention from the opposite sex. People are surprised when I recount to them my bad luck with boyfriends. I've been cheated on and lied to and gone through painful breakups. Everyone says, ‘Really, you? You're too pretty. He's an idiot. If there is no hope for you, there is no hope for the rest of us.'

"The truth is, being beautiful doesn't guarantee a faithful romantic partner or being treated with respect. If anything, it changes the entire game. You have to be careful with girlfriends' significant others, for fear of inciting jealousy and you must analyze whether or not another person's intentions are pure. So much of my personal value has been placed on what I look like. It's sad. Looks don't last. So as I age, will I lose my value?' asked the agency-signed model and E! network modeling-reality-show participant."

Didja guess which part I added?

I know several women who are at least as lovely as Nicole. They were my students, and as such, they all earned college degrees and have started their careers. They could have modeled (or married up), but they instead chose to trade on their minds. Not coincidentally, they do not think about losing their value any more than I think about losing my back hair. It ain't in our respective futures.

From all evidence, Nicole is a perfectly nice person who was answering a question I find irritating. I hope, for her sake, that while she cashes in on hitting the genetic lottery, she's not doing so, as so many do, at the expense of being a worthwhile human being. Because she's right. Looks do fade. As she ages, her genetic lottery ticket will abruptly lose its value. E! will cease to broadcast her makeovers.

And for the second time this week, I ask "So what other value do you bring?"