The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1913-10-09
Men Slave s
To Beauty;
Women Not
By DOROTHY DIX

The members of this organization
are all young women. and they have
pledged themselves to marry only ugly
men, on the theory that handsome
husbands make more unsatisfactory
life partners than homeIy ones, and
that IN matrimony pretty is as pretty
does.
American girls viii probably not
find it necessary to form a protective
league to guard themselves against
youths who are cursed with the fatal
gift of beauty, Apollos not being
overly plenty in this country. however
common they may be in Germany.
IN AMERICA WE DO NOT ExALT
THE DANDY; WE MAKE FUN
OF HIM
Indeed. in America the living pic
ture man finds scant favor either with
his own or the opposite sex. and we
90 not exalt the dandy who is the
glass Of fashion and the mold of form
to a pinnacle and initiate him. we
throw bricks at him and laugh at
him.
Strangely enough, it is men who are
slaves to beauty and who make fools
of themselves over it-not women.
When you tell a man about a woman
the very first question he asks you is.
rs she pretty?" He never inquiries
whether she is intelligent. or talented.
or agreeable. or good. or what she has
done to merit the approval of her fell
low creatures. The thing that he is
chiefly interested in is her looks. He
places more value on her complexion
than her character. and considers the
outside of her head Of more import
ance than the inside.
If girl has yellow hair and blue
eyes. and peaches and cream skin
and willowy figure, she may be the
dullest. the stupidest imbecile that
ever lived. her heart may be as hard
as a rock and she herself nothing but
a clothes horse to hang fine dresses
on. but men will flock around her like
bees around honey pot and fight
with each other for chance of mar
rying her.
On the contrary. when yea-tell
woman about a man in whom YOU wish
TO interest her. she practically never
asks question about his physical ap-
pearance. His looks. provided he is
not deformity and has the appear
ance of a gentleman, do not count
with her What she wants to know is
whether he is Intelligent and strong,
whether he knows how to talk and
entertain her, and particularly what
he has achieved, whether he has made
something out of his life. or is one of
the also rams"
MANS BEAUTY COUNTS BUT LIT
TIE WITH HER
OF course, beauty is a gift of the
gods. and If a man can have that
in addition to all the other desirable
qualifications he is just that much to
the good. "A woman would naturally
rather contemplate an Adonis than
otherwise. but a mans looks cut a
very small figure in her estimate of
him Let him be charming in man
ners. glib in speech, good dancer,
and especially know how to take
care of a woman, and do the little
things just right, and the man with
nose and stumpy figure can back
the classical featured foot tailor's
dummy off of the board any day.
In proof of this observe the OBJ
vious pleasure with which girls re-
ceive the attentions OF bald headed,
bay Widowed men who break every
rule Of physical pulchritude but who
are clever and bright and overflow
ing with the graces of mind and soul
But can you imagine a fat, dumpy,
bald headed woman ever being
belle, or men deliberately seeking her
out as partner for the dance and
rejoicing in being seen fl public with
her? Never. Such a woman might
be the most gifted creature on earth
and a perfect angel of goodness, yet
no man would ever take the trouble
to look beyond her homely face and
see the superlative beauty of her soul.
The opponents of woman suffrage
are always saying that when women
vote the one and only qualification
that a candidate will need to swing
the feminine ballot will be a hand
some face. They are dead wrong
there. Women won't care rap about
a mans looks. Indeed, they are al.
ways suspicious of one who is overly
endowed with beauty, but heaven
help the country when we have fem
mime candidates for office and a Lii
liam Russell takes the stump The
men would vote for her en- masse,
without ever stopping to inquire
which side of the political fence she
stood on.
In reality, it is not too much to
say women rather resent than admire
beauty in men. 1t is poaching on
their own preserves, the invading OF
field they hold sacred to themselves.
If anybody is going to be admired.
woman knows who ought to be 1T.
She wants the tributes laid at her
feet, and not be compelled to scat
ter roses before a man and tell him
what beautiful eyes he has got, and
how exquisite his hair grows, and
what magnificent straight front fig
ure he possesses.
Faughi The very thought of such
a thing knocks romance out of the
ring with the average girl. nor does