Warning: this isn't funny. It's a thought-provoking rant. Skip it if you don't want something serious.

Thanks to to DontCorrectMe for giving me this idea.

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For a world that praises diversity and talent, we aren't doing a very good job so far.

You've probably heard this a million times:

"Everyone's beautiful, no matter what!"

But that's bullshit. Not everyone is beautiful. Because if you define the aforementioned word, that can't necessarily apply in every situation.

But why do we always say that everyone is beautiful? We've never said that everyone is smart or that everyone is interesting. But when it comes to being beautiful, everyone is said to be it.

That's because beauty is what our society seems to value more than other qualities.

Believe it or not, it's true. Because if it wasn't, then we'd have no problem saying that some people aren't necessarily beautiful.

This is the part where it applies to wattpad.

There are people from all over the world on this site. Filipinos, French, Italians, Indians, Kenyans, Kuwaitis...

Yet when it comes to all these popular books by all these different authors, you'll find that their protagonists and love interests are still all the same.

All the same in the way they look. Standardization.

Because that's all our common perception of beauty. We all see a specific type of person or characteristic to be beautiful, more so than others.

What happened to the "everyone is beautiful" then? Because if everyone IS apparently beautiful, we sure need to start seeing more diversity in our characters.

Like, think about it.

How would you describe the female protagonists?
• white
• long hair, usually blonde
• blue or green eyes.
• skinny and slender body.

And that, everyone, is wattpad's definition of beauty.

Don't get me wrong, of course there are plenty of other books with characters that have completely different looks, so I'm not generalizing or anything.

But, when we say that everyone is beautiful, do we really mean that? Or is just something that we use to comfort each other? Because appearances matter THAT much?

In relation to that, that's why the unpopular girl would have to have a girly make-over at some point for guys to notice her. Because how people look does matter.

But you see, my problem isn't the makeover bit. It would be the fact that we'll never admit it to ourselves. We'll never say out loud the following things:
(i) that not everyone is beautiful
(ii) that appearance matters, and A LOT.

Listen. The fact that I say appearance matters DOES NOT MEAN that I'm suggesting personality doesn't matter a lot either. Because it does. Both looks and personality DO matter.

And the day one will admit that to themselves that how people look is a major factor influencing their feelings towards them will be the day that they will have become a better person.

So the fact that beauty matters is why there'll always be a makeover, or why they'll be wearing risqué clothes, or the fact that what everyone generally considers beautiful will be what the characters are described to be.

So cool, we'll always say that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

But why would there be more castings for someone like Megan Fox on wattpad books than Lupita Nyong'o? I thought the whole world was obsessed with the latter's beauty?

But no. Who were we kidding? We were praising how different she was, and calling that beautiful. Look. I'm not saying she's not beautiful. But my point still stands: how many of you have or would cast Lupita as their protagonist as compared to someone like Mila Kunis?

(I'll put a picture of Lupita Nyong'o on the side in case some of you don't know her).

But ask yourself honestly, an African woman or a Chinese or an Indian was never what you had in mind, when you meant 'beautiful' in your story, was it?

How many of you have ever thought to make your main character different-looking and not actually point out those differences, but embrace them proudly?

Why isn't it ever a black person saying "I tugged at my hard, kinky hair" instead of a white girl always saying "I brushed my long, golden locks"?

It's always the white, tanned, slim, long-haired, blue/green-eyed girl next door, isn't it?

And still you claim that everyone is beautiful? Yet you've a standard for what beauty should be. And that doesn't include being different.

And this doesn't only go for the girls. It's also for wattpad characters who are male. What would you expect?
• 'hazel' or blue eyes
• messy but perfect brown hair
• toned body
• tall

So much for diversity, huh?
Haha. They're all the same.

This is one of the most serious rants I've ever done but it's something that we need to think about.

How you perceive my rant is up to you. I'm not forcing or saying we should be more diverse in our character choices. Heck, it's fine if your character is blonde-haired and whatnot. That's up to you, as the author.

However:-

We all say that everyone is beautiful, yet we all lean more towards a certain standard of beauty. We all say that looks don't matter, yet we paint our book characters to be a stunning image of perfection. We all praise diversity, and say that diversity is beautiful, yet we've all standardized our characters.

We've all standardized them to our idea of what 'beautiful' is.

Haha. They're all the same.

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What is your opinion on this? Comment below.

Gawd, I'm so deep.