The Curse of Cute
by Jeanine Harvey



I hate being cute. Cute doesn't get you anywhere as an adult woman.

On the one hand, being cute means you don't get taken seriously. Being cute means people assume there's nothing in your head more weighty than what shoes to wear with what dress. Cute is not smart. Cute is not competent. Cute is not management material.

And on the other hand, cute is also what they say when they mean "not pretty". Being cute means you're not sexy, you're perky or spunky or fun. Cute doesn't leave anyone panting. Cute is not a bombshell.

I am not cute. I am not a doll, a plaything, an object to be picked up and swung around, or pinched, or patted on the head. My dimples and freckles do not equal a child. They are not my fault. My height is not a conversation opener. My nose is not a button to be pressed "beep beep". I would threaten to punch the next person who called me "cute"-- except that I'm sure that the sight of me with my little-wittle fists balled in rage would just make my tormentor smirk and say "gosh, you're even more cute when you're angry."

Now I'm not trying to make this sound like it's the worst thing in the world that could ever happen to somebody, being considered cute, that is. It beats a lot of other things someone could describe you as. I only wish people could see beyond the most superficial physical parts of you and view you as a whole person and a wide-ranging person and a person of many moods and many guises instead of just sizing you up one day and stamping your entire being with one narrow word like "cute".

There's a lot more to me than that. Just like I bet there's a lot more to "fatty" and "slut" and "brainiac" and "fratboy" and "airhead" and...



Do you get stuck with a one-word label that you just can't shake? Have you been guilty of stereotyping others? Send e-mail to Grrowl! and let us know! Responses will be published in Toothmarks.






Grrowl! E-Zine © 1997, Amelia E. Wilson. All rights reserved. Works copyrighted by their individual authors.

[Jenny's Laundry] [Mother's Morning Call] [Trying This] [Strange Music] [What's Wrong With Me?] [Images of Beauty]
[Snarl of the Month] [Toothmarks] [Editor's Note] [Submission Guidelines] [Grrowl! Back Issue Index]