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YOUTH ARE AWESOME

Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth. YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them. Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.

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HomeUncategorizedIn a world in which beauty and brains cannot coincide

In a world in which beauty and brains cannot coincide

When I was in 4th grade

I first heard the concept

of a “dumb blonde”

When yo mama jokes

turned to unrelenting stereotypes

and constricted narratives

 

Suddenly it seemed to become

accepted

that the colour of your hair

could somehow determine your IQ

That your appearance

could somehow reflect

what was inside

And I wondered

what ever happened

to “don’t judge a book by its cover”

 

And over the years

despite countless campaigns

to get rid of boxes

and labels

and definitions

It has always been

embedded in my mind

that smart girls can’t be pretty

and pretty girls can’t be smart

 

It’s been drilled into our consciousness

from the very start

from our fairy tales

stories about stepsisters

with beautiful and fair a face

but vile and black a heart

to our sitcoms

to our ugly Betty’s

with dazzling intelligence

but the forbidden combination

of plastic specs

and metal braces

 

Go ahead

Launch your crusades

Tell me

that no-one can be judged

because they fit a stereotype

Tell me

that the pretty girl sitting at Starbucks

won’t be classified as ditzy

and the smart girl you met online

won’t be stamped as a loser

in glasses and sweats

But don’t think for a second

that we’ll all abandon instinct

and instantly believe you

 

Because even now

I see

the dichotomy

between surface

and substance

beauty

and brains

and I wonder

why

the two can’t

coexist

 


 

(featured image source)

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