Women Have Pores Too

Ever watch a TV show or a movie and notice that when they close in on a man's face, he has pores and whiskers and laugh-lines, all the little imperfections that make him real and human? But when they close in on a woman's face, there better not be a pore or stray unplucked eyebrow to be seen! No way, women must be perfect poreless creatures at all times; how else will the rest of us feel inadequate?

I'm serious. Watch any drama or romance, anything that shows close-ups of people. Women can't have pores on-screen. Unless, of course, it's porn. In porn, women can have all sorts of pores and cellulite and stretch marks, as long as they have no boundaries and no dignity. Apparently, in the world of showbiz, it's pores or dignity, but never both.

But what about those of us who have pores, or even the occasional clogged pore, and yet still have dignity? What about the women out there with real teeth and skin and maybe even boobs that wander uninvited into our armpits, searching I assume, for warmth in a cold cruel world? There are men out there, real semi-intelligent men, who believe what they see on television. Men who have never seen the photos of celebrities without make-up, and who feel that women should be hairless, and poreless, and flawless, at all times. These are men who actively try to find meaningful relationships, but don't understand why women don't have permanent make-up, or might go a day or two without shaving, even during the flu! These are also, coincidentally, men who don't shave their own faces daily; go figure.

Why has the media set such an unattainable standard for women? I have watched two Diane Keaton films in the past week and in both, she actually looks her age. Sure she's trim and muscular and that's almost too perfect. But she has teeth that aren't bonded together permanently, and she has wrinkles. She shows her age! She shows it well, but the 50+ actresses all botoxed and lifted are sickening and she's not one of them. But does she have pores? Nope. Jack Nicholson can have pores, Keanu Reeves can have pores, even the dad from Seventh Heaven can have pores. But not Diane Keaton. She is female so she must have a plasticized poreless face, even with the laugh-lines and crow's feet.

Still, whatever calcified wrinkle cream it is she sells; I want it. I want to look like her when I get older. I know I won't, but I want to. Like her, but with pores. I am human, after all.