It is done.

The Terrible Artist.

I had the worse time trying to get a good photo of this thing. I don't think I succeeded. Oh well, it's what I have, it's been submitted to the contest. I'm not expecting much, I'm just glad I finished the stupid thing and now I never have to look at it again.

Man, I just remembered I promised a description of the subject matter of this upon completion. Ugggggggg, okay.

So a while back, I drew a self portrait of myself that I liked. But many people that saw it said something to the effect of "You are much prettier than this in real life." Which I always took kind of sweetly. But then I changed my mind about it. A fellow saw it and said "What? This is terrible. You didn't draw yourself pretty. Really, you are a terrible artist. You so goregeous, and this isn't!"
I took great offense to this. Why, as a female artist, would my primary concern when rendering myself be that I "draw myself pretty?" I would much rather be an amazing artist than be pretty! If a guy drew himself tired or ugly or however is was he was really feeling that day, everyone would say "Wow, I can really see what you were feeling." No one would say "Silly boy, you are more handsome than this!" I realize this guy was just trying to flatter me, but I was offended that he thought I would rather hear "you're pretty" than "You are a great artist." But the sad thing is most women would rather hear they were pretty then to hear they were great at something other than being looked at.
Why as women are we conditioned to believe this is the most important thing in the life, the number one priority, to be beautiful? I'm not going to lie to you and make claims I am above this. I'm on the same self-depreciating cycle most women are. I constantly worry I am too fat, my skin is looking too old, I am too broken out, my hair isn't right, my make-up doesn't match, the same old who-could-love-such-an-ugly-fat-thing all women go through.
This is only scratching at the surface of a much bigger issue of gender equality that sadly is still so prevalent in this country. Yes, women are given (mostly) the same opportunities as men, but the non-stop obsession about our appearances that we have been bombarded with our whole lives definitely holds us back. How can you reach your potential as a human being if you are constantly worried about how attractive you are?
Instead of this situation improving for women, it's now getting worse for men. Boys are now also bombarded with images of impossibilities they are supposed to achieve in their appearance. Steroid use is continually on the rise, and many guys do real damage to their bodies trying to achieve "perfection." Or some men are so insecure about their looks they won't venture out far into the world at all.

So! I give you The Terrible Artist, an over-idealized self portrait of a stupid pretty girl. The nosebleed?
You tell me.