#esteem

Never," enjoins a women's magazine, "mention the size of his [penis] in public...and never, ever let him know that anyone else knows or you may find it shrivels up and disappears, serving you right." That quotation acknowledges that critical sexual comparison is a direct anaphrodisiac when applied to men; either we do not yet recognize that it has exactly the same effect on women, or we do not care, or we understand on some level that right now that effect is desirable and appropriate. A man is unlikely to be brought within earshot of women as they judge men's appearance, height, muscle tone, sexual technique, penis size, personal grooming, or taste in clothes--all of which we do. The fact is that women are able to view men just as men view women, as objects for sexual and aesthetic evaluation; we too are effortlessly able to choose the male "ideal" from a lineup and if we could have male beauty as well as everything else, most of us would not say no. But so what? Given all that, women make the choice, by and large, to take men as human beings first. ↗

— Naomi Wolf

#aging #beauty #body-image #cosmetic-surgery #cosmetics

The better you feel about yourself, the less you feel the need to show off. ↗

— Robert Hand

#self #self-esteem #show-off #confidence

Piper had a new entry in her top-ten list of Times Piper Felt Useless. Fighting Shrimpzilla with a dagger and a pretty voice? Not so effective. ↗

— Rick Riordan

#percy-jackson-and-the-olympians #piper-mclean #self-confidence #self-esteem #skolopendra

I used to be self conscious about my height, but then I thought, fuck that, I'm Harry Potter. ↗

— Daniel Radcliffe

#self-image #consciousness

I don't entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me. ↗

— Elizabeth Taylor

#self-esteem #determination

The most stable, and therefore, the most healthy self-esteem is based on deserved respect from others rather than on external fame or celebrity and unwarranted adulation. ↗

— Abraham Harold Maslow

#self-esteem #respect

Self pity becomes your oxygen. But you learned to breathe it without a gasp. So, nobody even notices you're hurting. ↗

— Paul Monette

#lgbt #queer #self-esteem #self-pity #gay

I have to figure out why I worked at a job I hated for years. I have to find out why I can’t see what everyone else sees in me. I don’t feel beautiful. When I look in the mirror, I never saw beautiful. For this to happen to someone like me, it’s devastating, Jonas. I don’t want you to think it’s vanity, it isn’t. I can’t see me and I need to be able to do that. I need to find out what I’m like and what I want. I have to be comfortable in my own skin before I can be in a relationship the way you want. ↗

— Christine Feehan

#love-yourself #relationships #self-esteem #beauty

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. ↗

— Friedrich Nietzsche

#corrupt #differently #esteem #higher #him

Conscience: self-esteem with a halo. ↗

— Irving Layton

#halo #self-esteem