Yes, you. This is for you. And by you, I mean anyone reading this post.
I have something to tell you.
Don't call people cute.
Or rather, call them cute with the best and purest of intentions, because some people -myself included- could take it personally.
I get it, guys, I'm adorable. I'm built little and my eyes are big and puppy-dog-like and I have a high-pitched voice and a cute smile. I do cute things like knit hats and giggle and wear skirts.
But I, much like many girls and guys my age, have the audacity to believe that there is so much more to me than my own cuteness.
Synonyms for cute include "darling, dear, delightful, sweet, adorable, good-looking, handsome"- and not that there's anything wrong with being any or all of those adjectives, but what about being praised for something more, something deeper than my harmless sweetness?
Because believe me, I am not cute all the time.
My best friends can and will describe me as a sarcastic, mama-bear-know-it-all with an extreme coffee dependency and zero tolerance for people who don't have their lives together. I get frustrated when it rains and I can't run, when I don't know how to spell a word, when I use the wrong "your" or "you're." Sometimes, I don't shower for three days. I can make myself burp and any or all jokes about
So, first of all, I'm not cute.
I'm short-tempered, competitive, and stubbornly independent. I value harmony within myself and ignore people when they get on my nerves. I'm brave in any situation that doesn't involve the presence of earthworms. I'm confrontational, responsible, tough. And I'm not afraid to say that I really hate it when unsuspecting acquaintances think I'm "cute."
What's so wrong with being called "cute?"
Nothing is wrong with being called cute. It just depends on how you say it, who you say it about, and why you say it.
How you say it: if one more person tells me "aww, you're so cute!" in that annoying voice that my sister uses when she talks to dogs and babies, I will throw up on them. I know I'm short, but I also know I'm not ten anymore. I'm a college-bound woman who occasionally says "dammit," so leave me alone or call me by a less condescending, demeaning adjective, please and thank you. Call me cute for my good looks and vast knowledge of Jane Austen novels, but never because I'm vertically challenged.
Who you say it about: why is it when we say guys are cute, we mean they're physically appealing, whereas when a girl is called cute it almost always has to do with her being little, childlike, innocent? I'm not a feminist. I'm just a person who thinks that men and women are equal citizens and deserve to be treated that way. Jesus thought the same thing too, you know. He used so many women in the Bible to do things for His glory, and while He used a few in their beauty and innocence, in that they were powerful. So be careful who you call cute, because me and my fellow cuties know how to manipulate you because of your distorted paradigm.
Why you say it: Are you calling me cute because my hair looks nice, or because you need to treat me like a child in order to feel better about yourself? There, I said it. Sometimes my elders can be like that, and with all due respect, how am I supposed to learn how to function as a grownup if you keep treating me like a child? I don't understand.
I get it, guys, I'm cute. But I'm so much more than that. I am as much delightful as I am unlovable, just as sweet as I am snarky. And this applies to me as much as it does to countless other people. I am not playing the victim. I am merely standing up for myself and finally developing my nearly nonexistent backbone, stating that yes, I am adorable, and yes, I would like to think I deserve to be treated as something more than that.
Then again, these are only the thoughts swimming around in the overcrowded head of a tragically typical teenage girl, so what right do I have to say this anyway?
Enough. I have had enough and I have enough of a right to say so.
--Laura :)
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