An Open Letter to the Members of One Direction

Dear Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson,

We need to talk.

No, I don’t want your autograph, I don’t want to run my fingers through your hair, and I most definitely don’t want you to sing to me.  I do, however, need to share some of my thoughts about your hit song What Makes You Beautiful. 

When I first heard the song on the radio, I was impressed by the catchy tune and up beat music.  After listening to it a couple more times, I found myself singing to the lyrics.  It was at this moment that I realized exactly what you were saying, and to put it lightly, I was a little less than ok with it.

You romanticize low self-esteem, idolize girls with poor body images, and imply that girls who do not wear makeup are more pure and wholesome than those who do.  It has been well established in today’s media that lacking self-confidence is bad thing.  Yet, you are all attracted to the fact that she is “insecure” and does not know “What makes her beautiful.”  You state this directly in the line "Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe / You don't know, you don't know you're beautiful / That's what makes you beautiful."

A woman is entitled to have confidence in whatever she chooses to – be it physical characteristics, a personality trait, an accomplishment, or a talent.  There is nothing trendy about a woman that is yet to find herself in today’s day and age.  Yet your lyrics “You’re insecure / Don’t know what for” and “If only you saw what I can see / You’ll understand why I want you so desperately” showcase how highly you view her because of how poorly she views herself.  You all seem to be drawn into the challenge of making this girl confident.  Quite honestly, I already foresee the ending to this love episode – if the girl does gain confidence, suddenly she won’t be nearly as attractive as she was before. 

Additionally, the lyrics “Don’t need makeup, to cover up / Being the way that you are is enough” imply that girls who do wear makeup are putting up a fake image and lying to the world about who they truly are.  It is really none of your business what a girl decides to do with her face.  If she has more confidence with makeup on, who are you to jeopardize how she feels about herself?  You calling her beautiful will never make her feel beautiful, so quit playing the “natural beauty” card. 

 

But I get it.  It’s ‘just a song’ after all.  I target What Makes You Beauty because unlike other songs such as Justin Bieber’s One Less Lonely Girl, you capitalize on this girl’s low self-esteem for a romantic/sexual relationship and attempt to ‘rescue’ her from a lifetime of insecurity.   

Men need to take note of a woman’s low self-esteem instead of using it against her to create a relationship.  Men need to realize and value the independence of a woman.  Men need to stop admiring insecurity and start admiring confidence.  Your song is currently infecting the minds of millions of teenage girls across the globe.  Instead of being concerned with making a new hit song and scoring the big bucks, use some common sense and realize the effect your song will have on the females around the world who are listening to it.