Ugly is a touchy subject. Beauty is more positive. Hence, beauty is what has been discussed countless times in countless ways. Ugliness, on the other hand, is akin to wretchedness, desperation, discomfort, and insult. Beauty is the inamorata, the protagonist, and the hero. Ugly is the antagonist and the villain. Ugly has been marginalized, and is a topic of argument, from scholarly to downright crass. People take up the subject of ugliness, more often, in the light of discrimination and injustice.

Ugly has also been an argument in political correctness. There are many ways to skirt the issue and candycoat the topic with endless euphemisms. In other words, the subject of ugly is so ugly that people avoid, as much as they can, to call a spade a spade. Since the word ugliness is almost always relative to the word beauty, ugly has been more politely referred to as ‘plain.’ But if beauty is exalted, ‘plain’ still remains to be a punishment.  This is probably for the reason that beauty and ugliness are also closely associated with the concepts of good and bad, respectively.

In society, beauty has many privileges. It is almost always a passport to what one wishes to do or to be. Ugly is rather to be hidden, whenever chance permits. There is more opportunity in beauty. There is more curse in ugliness. All things being equal, and they are not in the realms of beauty and ugliness, the two concepts rarely have anything to do with ability. Is it any wonder, therefore, that those enterprising businesses that are hedged on the notions of ‘beauty is skin deep’ or ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ are laughing all the way to the bank?

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Via International Herald Tribune