There's an intriguing profile of Sharon Osbourne coming out in the September 2009 issue of the British magazine, Psychologies.
(By the way, the August issue of Psychologies -- on U.S. newstands now -- features a Q&A with yours truly on how to help your daughter feel good about her body). According to the blog, The Frisky, the always outrageous Osbourne sums up the secret of her success in the music industry with a most thought-provoking idea.
Ready? Osbourne says she's been so successful because she was born ugly.
Seriously.
Being looks-challenged, according to The Frisky piece, meant Osbourne had to work harder, be smarter and focus on developing her personality.
At first, I thought Osbourne was just being her outlandish self. But then I read an interview with the unarguably beautiful screen star Cybill Shepherd, who said this, "What I'm trying to say about being beautiful is that there's an element of it that can cause you to be emotionally underdeveloped. People do things for you, doors will open because you're beautiful..."
Intriguing, no?
So here we have two famous women, both successful, who've experienced their perception of their own attractiveness in very different ways -- and yet both admit that their perceptions have absolutely affected their professional successes and the development of their talents and capabilities.
I'm happy to have this illustrative example of why body image matters for the next time I inevitably get asked that question.
In my book, You'd Be So Pretty If..., I talk at length with women and girls about how they see themselves and how they feel their perceptions of what they look like have affected their lives. I encourage moms to remind their daughters -- through words and example -- that it's important to focus on developing other aspects of themselves besides their outer beauty. Intelligence, caring, strength, courage and humor -- all of which can be developed -- are the tools we moms can use to help our girls fight the cultural influences and internal pressures that tell them physical perfection should be their most important pursuit.
All girls, maybe even especially those who fit our cultural definition of "beautiful," need to know that they're more than simply what they look like.
Their future success may depend on it.
