“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a famous expression. It means beauty is not objective, but rather, what one person finds beautiful may not be viewed the same way by another. But what is beauty? What makes something beautiful? This is where inner and outer beauty comes into play. Someone can either be beautiful on the inside or on the outside or both. Typically, beauty was just about the outward appearance of a person. This includes stuff like: height, eye, hair and skin color, weight, and facial structure. Before anyone can speak a word, people are judging their outward appearance. First impressions are all about outer beauty. It is when someone gets to truly know a person that someone gets to see that person’s inner beauty. Inner beauty is more about what a person is like: are they kind, smart, loyal or hardworking? This is a different type of beauty all together that society often overlooks, which makes inner beauty very hard to find in a person. In “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy and “Bitch Plant” by Kelly Sue Deconnick, both have messages about the strengths of inner beauty over outer beauty, but having two different outcomes shows the harsh reality that no woman can have total freedom on how others will perceive them.

When deciding if someone is beautiful, it can bring about insecurities in that person. Judgment from others and yourself is what makes something beautiful on the outside. Both characters from “Barbie Doll” and “Bitch Planet” actually had good qualities and things they liked about themselves, but others ignored that and focused instead on superficial appearances. The girl discussed in “Barbie Doll” was described as, “She was healthy, tested intelligence, / possessed strong arms and back, /… Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.” (Piercy 348). The good characteristics of being: healthy, smart and strong, is not what everyone saw in this girl. People only saw her for her flaws. Just like this girl, people viewed Penelope from “Bitch Planet” in the same way. Some random guy stated, “No wonder she’s state-sponsored, Christ. Look at her. Who wants to come home to that?” (Deconnick 194). This is implying that Penelope is not perceived as the typical beauty, especially since “that” is bolded. This random guy judged her outward appearance without really knowing her. Both Penelope and the girl are quickly judged on their outward beauty. Nobody gave either of them the chance to show their inner beauty. Both of these stories have the same premise in order to show how most people in society react, which is they judge appearance quickly without caring about who the person is. This makes it seem like outward beauty is more important in society than inward beauty. 

Other people made judgments on these characters causing the characters to react. Their reaction is what displays their inner beauty. They can either handle it with dignity, and not care what others think, or let other’s criticisms change them. The girl in “Barbie Doll” does the latter. Piercy writes, “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt. / So she cut off her nose and her legs / and offered them up.” (349). This girl let other people’s opinion get to her, causing her to change. She decided to fix herself so others would view her different. She changed her outward appearance in order to change her outward beauty. While “Barbie Doll” changes, Penelope from “Bitch Planet” does not, but rather questions society and why people would view her this way when she feels like she is better. Penelope questions, “Why folks gotta say what I am, Mother? Ain’t it enough to know who I am?” (Deconnick 188). As soon as people judge her for her appearance, she asks why people do that. She then goes on to say that as long as she accepts herself, then that should be all that matters. She does not just accept what people are saying about her. The word “what” is bolded to show how society views people as an object instead of a person. “Who” should have been used instead of “what”. Questioning is always a good way to start to understand instead of an immediate reaction. Their reactions and how they handle other’s judgment shows each character’s inner beauty. Penelope does not give in by showing her strong inner beauty and not accepting criticism. The girl from “Barbie Doll” does not value or have much inner beauty because of her vulnerability to her flaws. Both characters have very different reactions to criticism for their appearance. This can only signify that the outcomes of both characters will be different.

All actions have effects. Different choices were made by each character on how to handle society’s influence on beauty. Penelope had the more positive result. When others tried to change the way she viewed her outward appearance, she still sees her true self and she says, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I ain’t broke. …And you bastards ain’t never gonna break me.” (Deconnick 199). Penelope does not let other people’s opinions break her or her self-image. This shows that her inner beauty is strong if she can resists others critical thoughts. She ends up being happier for this reason. “Never” is bolded to imply that no matter how harshly someone will judge Penelope, she will not let that affect her. When society keeps bringing up flaws about a person, it is bound to break a person, but Penelope is willing to not care and accept whom she is, showing true strength and inner beauty. On the other hand, the girl in “Barbie Doll” does let society get to her and she changed her appearance but she ends up killing her inner beauty. She is described, “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, /…  Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said.” (Piercy 349). This is saying that society accepted her because of the changes she made to look pretty, but she is dead on the inside. She killed her inner beauty and herself in the process of conforming to society.  Even though to society she is pretty, she is nothing anymore to herself. Society ultimately thinks then that being pretty is worth dying for. The two different outcomes show how people react to society, but ultimately people will have no freedom over how others view them, which can lead some people to break.

The only ugliness that exists is the ugliness of society. It is so easy to judge when one might not even know the other person. Especially for women who grow up watching celebrities and being told fairytales of fare princesses. It is extremely damaging. This brings about self-consciousness by women on how they look. The plots to both “Barbie Doll” and “Bitch Planet” are not an anomaly. Every day, women are judged because there is an expectation for them to look a certain way. This causes women to give up their inner beauty to perform to society’s expectations and that is how freedom is taken away. Women cannot go about their life without people judging what clothes they wear, or how much makeup they have on. This type of pressure is harmful. It is nearly impossible for women to accept who they are like Penelope was able to. Most of the time women end up being like the girl in “Barbie Doll”. They try to change, but when they do they either lose who they are or die trying. It is easier for most women to do this. That is why there are two different outcomes. Why is okay to be told that it is not what is on the outside but rather on the inside that matters, and yet not many people really try to look at the inside? It is also very damaging to say that she must have a great personality when someone is not as attractive. No one will feel confident if they hear this type of statement. If women are constantly worried about how they present themselves, then they will have less freedom of choice. The choice women face is to be who they really are versus how they want to be seen by society. The focus on outer beauty is so damaging to people who are not so confident to begin with. A woman can only be beautiful if she thinks she is beautiful. That is true inner beauty.

