Who Needs Makeover Movies?

There are many movies that take a woman who is perceived as ugly, and transform the very same person into someone very beautiful. They remove their glasses, comb their hair, and miraculously they get the guy, and everyone likes them! Here are a few examples:

Princess Diaries - Mia (Anne Hathaway) is a normal high school kid, until she finds out she's Princess of the country Genovia. She wears glasses, has unplucked brows, and frizzy hair. She's pretty already! But for a makeover she's plucked, makeup is caked on, her hair is straightened, and her glasses are snapped in half.

She's All That - Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) is a geeky homebody artist, and a handsome jock makes a bet he can turn her beautiful. Again, off come the glasses, some tighter clothes are supplied, and BAM! She's beautiful.

Sabrina - In the 1995 version, Julia Ormond plays Sabrina, who has an unrequited crush on David (Greg Kinnear). He doesn't notice her because she's got long frizzy hair and glasses, presumably. She goes off to France, cuts her hair, stops wearing glasses, and becomes beautiful! When she comes back, he wants her.

Miss Congeniality - Sandra Bullock is transformed from a frumpy FBI agent into a beauty pageant contestant. From no makeup, unstyled hair, and baggy clothes into makeup, a hairdo, and tight clothes, and she becomes attractive.

Grease - Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) is a pretty but pure blond. To get Danny (John Travolta), a Greaser, she slaps on a ton of makeup, perms her hair, and paints on a black cat suit.

Breakfast Club - Allison (Ally Sheedy) is an antisocial girl who's weird, dresses weird, and has a really bad case of dandruff. The pretty redhead (Molly Ringwald) pulls her aside, combs her hair, applies makeup, and puts her in a cute little tank top, and suddenly the jock (Emilio Estevez) notices her.

Wicked - Not yet a movie, Wicked is a Broadway production about Elfaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. At one point, Glinda who becomes the good witch, brushes her hair, puts a flower in it, and deems her beautiful. She sings an entire song about how badly Elfaba needs a makeover.

What kind of example does this teach people? Well, here's one: if you wear glasses? You're ugly. Sorry, doesn't matter how pretty you are, Anne Hathaway, if you wear glasses you're automatically transformed into ugly! Same for you, America Ferrera (Ugly Betty). If you don't spend an hour on your hair every morning? Sorry, you too. If you don't wear makeup, too, then you should work on that because that's an automatic ugly qualifier. Do we really want our children believing these things?

Just some thoughts from someone who wears glasses and doesn't usually wear makeup!