Beauty as a Platform for Change

We don’t know about you, but we for one were absolutely blown away by Eva Longoria’s interview on Friday’s Late Late; her passion for the education of the Latino community, her charisma, her grace, her luscious locks? She presented herself as a woman we’d all love to be, and one who we could honestly listen to for hours.

For her, the fame gained from her acting was a catalyst for the political change she wanted to bring for the Latino community: ?I always knew acting was a means to an end, it wasn’t the end goal. I knew that it was going to be a pathway to allow me to have a bigger platform and a bigger voice…?

And this all after she ordered 120 packets of Tayto to her hotel room.

Via: WhoSay

Needless to say, after her Irish trip, we’ve fallen for Eva Longoria just as much as we did the first time we saw her in Desperate Housewives.

She’s not the only beauty using her fame to better the world. Angelina Jolie has been adamant about improving the lives of refugees ever since her Lara Croft days, and her coy hints at running for office have us totally behind her.

Her work targeting gender-based violence is also incredible, so much so she has already gained the title of honorary dame by Queen Elizabeth II for promoting women’s rights in war torn countries.

In everything she has done for women and refugees, she remained one of the most beautiful women in the world every step of the way. Our respect for her has just grown and grown since she first came on our radar as the sex siren who starred in Tomb Raider. She has shown the world that a woman’s beauty can propel her to a platform on which she can genuinely change the world.

She may not be quite as demure as Eva or Angelina, but Pamela Anderson was the woman who first taught us the power of using the media’s sexualisation of herself as a means to get people to listen to her. And when Pamela spoke, she brought unprecedented attention to such worthy causes, like animal rights and AIDS and HIV. In fact, she was the first ever winner of the Linda McCartney Memorial Award, in commemoration of the extensive work she has done for animal rights.

These three powerful women remind us that not only should we never assume another female has only their obvious beauty to offer, but that if your looks are able to launch you into the spotlight for a cause that is dear to your heart, that you should embrace the platform that they bring.

We may live in a world where the media constantly strives to sexualise women, but these women have shown the world that if the media’s obsession with their looks is their vehicle for change, then so be it.

It’s time we all embraced the power that female beauty brings and use it for the changes we so desperately need in our world.

Hannah Popham @HannahPopham