The vanity case

Actress Fiona Ramsay reflects on British columnist Samantha Brick's recent confession that her beautiful looks get her places, but that there is a downside to that: women hate her beauty.

Brick's column initiated a raging debate about the effects of beauty on our lives. We asked a few famous faces what beauty means to them.

Fiona Ramsay

Shakespeare remarks in his examination of envy and mistrust in Othello: "Beware jealousy - it is the green-eyed monster."

Samantha Brick secured more than her allotted Warholesque 15 minutes of fame on the subject, sparking an internet flurry spanning weeks and counting. All as a result of her vapid claim that "being beautiful sometimes hurts".

Many had never heard of nor read Daily Mail columnist Brick until the column that kindled the twitter fire in which she asserts that most "are jealous of her looks".

The internet is awash with responses - praise for her rampant belief in herself and her mirror, and diatribes on her apparent lack of honesty, reserve or humility. Some suggest she is no beauty in their measure. Her retort: they are jealous.

So why did she go public with her experience of being a beauty? Perhaps she is desperate for attention? Something genuinely beautiful lasses are never in short supply of. Could it be that Brick spies plainer girls than she is as happier, garnering more attention and eminently more interesting? Could it be that she is the jealous one?

My feminist self is disappointed by her attempt at busting the notion of a hard-earned sisterhood and her desire to reinforce archaic sentiments of chauvinism.

Her looks have opened many doors, she claims, not elaborating on what happens when she sashays through these portals.

Sadly, by her own admission, "pretty" stops there - no relationships are forged, she remains focused on herself and unfortunately not engaging with the world.

Click here to read Samantha Brick's controversial story.

Evita Bezuidenhout: On feeling beautiful

Rubber gloves on my hands. Even old warm socks under the trainers. No time for a hairbrush, but a doek that keeps everything in place. I pass the false eyelashes still lying legs up in the small ceramic dish, looking like a dead pet. Lipstick sheathed, powder lidded and perfume on one side. Starting with the bedroom of the oldest grandchild. A teenage girl. Be careful not to make it look like it's been cleaned. Don't move anything around. Even chaos at her age is design. Then the polisher for the passage. The radio is on, but I can't hear what language it is in. Maybe even Zulu which makes me work harder. The TV room is always a battlefield after surrender with cups and plates and nuts crushed into the carpets. The cat ignores me and I avoid plumping up her favouriote cushion. She is an ally I need. The bathroom is old territory. I take it from left to right, methodically like a recitation:

basin, bath, toilet, bits and pieces out of place like a soap not where the soaps live and a bathsalts-bottle without lid, which I eventually find under the chair which is covered in damp towels. I smile or else I use bad language. Diningroom, porch, verandah. My bedroom I just pass by. You don't tickle your own navel. 

The kitchen is always the last post. The smells from the last meal hang over the room like mist. Open doors and windows. Put on some Mozart which make you feel as if you're in a Swedish film. You look at the watch only when you sense your time is up, like a prisoner after her last meal, seeing the gallows through the bars. You have twenty minutes to get ready before the journalist and photographer from The Times arrived for the interview. Just enough time to underline how I feel. I look in the small mirror above the kitchen dresser. I see Evita Bezuidenhout who has just cleaned the house with a smile on her face. She is white and she is beautiful.

ACTRESS HLUBI MBOYA SAYS:

I believe in shaking what your mama gave you, but relying on looks alone is short-sighted. Beauty fades, but dumbness is forever. I believe in self-empowerment and educating oneself. My beauty keywords are 'longevity' and 'staying power', achieved with enough sleep, stress management, healthy diet, regular exercise and balanced lifestyle. Physical grooming leads to spiritual blooming.

COMEDIAN KRIJAY GOVENDER SAYS:

You have got to be an absolute idiot if you don't use your beauty to your advantage. Use your beautiful face as currency. The rest of us ugly sods are desperately trying to emulate the good-looking.

COMEDIAN ROB VAN VUUREN SAYS:

Some people might find that striking good looks and flawless beauty help them get ahead in life but, for me, striking good looks have proved to be nothing but a curse. People just see me as a piece of meat, and ugly people hate me for being so pretty. It is really hard being this amazing. This is a photograph of me saying that if you don't accept how beautiful I am, I will kill this teddy bear. I would say that jealousy makes you ugly, but most of the people who hate me for being perfect were ugly to begin with. No matter how hard it gets for me though, I am planning to remain beautiful forever, on the inside and on the outside.

MUSICIAN LOUISE CARVER SAYS:

In the music industry, if you're pretty but you style yourself to look like an underwear model, you'll be seen as a flash in the pan with no long-term prospects. Tenacity, sincerity and talent keep you in the game.

MUSICIAN LOYISO BALA SAYS:

AS A musician, I never thought looks mattered, until I found out that some people are tone-deaf and unable to distinguish between good and bad singers. Having a good appearance definitely adds a measure of success to one’s career. In pop music, good looks and an average voice get you further than having average looks and a great voice: you can auto-tune your voice in studio and onstage, but you can’t photoshop your face. At the same time, good looks don't last forever, but good talent does.

LIFE COACH JUDY KLIPIN SAYS:

There's a powerful interplay between a person’s perception of self and their expectations. The way people look or, more importantly, perceive how they look, can certainly hinder or help them in life. If you’re happy with the way you look and have a healthy self-image, you are more likely to put yourself out there and expect good things to come to you. If, on the other hand, you feel that you are not attractive, or thin, or sexy enough, then you’re more likely to put up with second- best.