How do you see yourself in the mirror when you look into it?
-- I see *me*... that is, someone with unique features, high cheekbones, dark hair, honest eyes, and a well-shaped face. Unless I have been crying lately!... then I see a frog-faced woman with blotches on her face.
The times when I am most critical of my face are when I haven't been taking care of my facial hair (something I only started doing in my early-mid 20s, anyway, so I get lazy).. bleaching the moustache and plucking the eyebrows. Those things stand out to me, if I know I have to leave the house...
Why do you think the bar is set so incredibly high for women?
-- I guess you mean the bar of looking good in public? Cultural influence and sexual selection (evolution), I guess. Although honestly, I think the bar is set high, but only certain women will try to live up to it... and I never want to be one of those women, I guess. Sure, I try as hard as the next woman to get rid of any culturally-undesirable hair on my body... but I also do it because it makes me feel good about myself, not because some guy wants it that way (usually it's women who notice that stuff more than men!... my bf never really cares about that stuff).
And can women really live up to this? (some women seem too and they seem so successful)
-- Successful in what sense? At creating an image of themselves that is not real? Again, I'm not sure if I ever want to "succeed" in that sense. It is hard to go against the social programming we have in the Western world, but let me tell you, standards of beauty are NOT universal. This knowledge helps me care a little less about what everyone on the street thinks of me. E.g. women in Zambia don't give a rat's ass about shaving or plucking hair... but there are other standards of beauty there, and somehow those standards feel more real to me than the ones we have here.
Is anyone here actually living up to this image of the in control and perfectly styled professional women? (i'd like to know how! )
-- Not me! But I am a graduate student. When I was teaching high school, I was forced to live up to this image a little more... I had to buy professional clothes and shoes, and had to do my hair and makeup each morning. But it didn't come naturally to me, never has... the only reason I did it was to portray an image different from that of a student, since I needed to assert authority. Also, it helped me "feel" more professional, once I dressed the part. But any given weekend, I would be back in my jeans and t-shirt as quick as possible.
How many of you are generally happy with the way you are present yourself phsyically, professionally?
-- Well, I have never been a style queen, that's for sure! I put myself in the "dorky" category long ago, and have been content with that for some time, once I realized that my real friends didn't care how I dressed. I guess as I have gone through my 20s, I have tried to be a *little* more style-conscious and professional
(at least I don't wear rowing sweats to class every day anymore) but nothing that would break my budget. I guess I try to match somewhat
and make sure my hair doesn't look like Medusa... but my default is still jeans, shirt/sweater, practical shoes, and a ponytail (or at least low-maintenance hair). I wear the minimum of make-up possible, enough to help me look like I am not freshly risen from the dead.