For those who don't look 'perfect' from society's point of view, or have genetic traits that society deems unacceptable:
Do you feel that if you looked more 'ideal', you'd be a different person today?
Does dissatisfaction with how you are built restrict who you want to be?
Let's look at an example: Imagine you are obese, but love wearing formfitting clothes. Society tells you that obese people really shouldn't be wearing tight clothes, that it looks unflattering and that you should wear something that distracts from flabs of fat.
If you pay heed to this, you end up wearing loose-fitting clothes and might not feel completely you, because slacks and t-shirts aren't who you are. But you don't want to deal with any negative attention so you dress in a way that doesn't attract too much attention. You develop a dimension to yourself that you might not have if you hadn't been obese.
If you don't pay heed to society and dress in tight clothes, you attract negative attention. Although you're just being yourself, to society you're making a statement. People begin to comment, question and advise you on wardrobe choices. You have to defend yourself and it annoys you. Or maybe you even decide that you will campaign for your freedom to be you. Again, you develop a dimension to yourself that you might not have done if it weren't for this 'flaw'.
You could say that the way you are born is a part of who you are, and therefore any impact it has on your personal development is also an integral component of who you are.
But frankly, I think if flaws affect my personal development, it adds an artificial restriction to who I can be and who I really am. After all, what is a flaw but what society doesn't like? Mere awareness of the fact that society considers something a flaw means I have to either minimize the flaw or be defiant about it, which I wouldn't have to do if I weren't 'flawed' in the first place.
Thoughts?
Do you feel that if you looked more 'ideal', you'd be a different person today?
Does dissatisfaction with how you are built restrict who you want to be?
Let's look at an example: Imagine you are obese, but love wearing formfitting clothes. Society tells you that obese people really shouldn't be wearing tight clothes, that it looks unflattering and that you should wear something that distracts from flabs of fat.
If you pay heed to this, you end up wearing loose-fitting clothes and might not feel completely you, because slacks and t-shirts aren't who you are. But you don't want to deal with any negative attention so you dress in a way that doesn't attract too much attention. You develop a dimension to yourself that you might not have if you hadn't been obese.
If you don't pay heed to society and dress in tight clothes, you attract negative attention. Although you're just being yourself, to society you're making a statement. People begin to comment, question and advise you on wardrobe choices. You have to defend yourself and it annoys you. Or maybe you even decide that you will campaign for your freedom to be you. Again, you develop a dimension to yourself that you might not have done if it weren't for this 'flaw'.
You could say that the way you are born is a part of who you are, and therefore any impact it has on your personal development is also an integral component of who you are.
But frankly, I think if flaws affect my personal development, it adds an artificial restriction to who I can be and who I really am. After all, what is a flaw but what society doesn't like? Mere awareness of the fact that society considers something a flaw means I have to either minimize the flaw or be defiant about it, which I wouldn't have to do if I weren't 'flawed' in the first place.
Thoughts?