Me.

Beckett Gladney

I was talking with a group of women the other day about how we were raised as females in a male-dominated culture, and I realized after thinking about it that I have always tended more towards 'being one of the guys' rather than attempting (and failing at) the 'attractive female' option. I came to the rather painful conclusion very early on that I was not particularly attractive and certainly not 'pretty' in any conventional sense. And I realized the other day that in some ways that belief has freed me to be more comfortable doing what I want and feel good doing, rather than trying to please other people or trying for some amorphous ideal. I haven't had to deal much with the pain of the inevitable 'invisible woman' syndrome that women face as they get older, youth and beauty being the desirable qualities in this culture. And I think it makes me much more relaxed and 'real' around other people than I might have been otherwise; what you see is really what you get with me.

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