You can fill an entire library with everything written about beauty, but many people avoid getting into the topic of ugliness because they don't like it.

In an interview conducted by Emily Broz with sociologist Claudine Saggart and published in the French newspaper "Nouval Observator", the doctor says, "Ugliness is still a taboo subject. We are only talking about it in secret, despite its presence in a large measure."

Then, the author of The History of Female Ugliness - a reference work published in 2015 - invites us to delve into the nostrils of ugliness.

In her question about considering ugliness an insult and about the meaning of the phrase "you are ugly" or "attacking the shape of a woman" on the Internet or in the street, Saggart replied that from ancient times until now, the identity of a woman has been reduced to her body and outward appearance, which is confirmed by the German philosopher Emmanuel Kant, Where he said that a woman should be beautiful, and that she was created to seduce, but added that developing her intellectual capabilities would make her ugly.

This kind of discourse has been a recurring one in the history of mentalities.

Beauty and stupidity

Moreover, beautiful girls are often described as stupid.

Thus, the saying "Be beautiful and silent" sums up the image of the woman being reduced to her body.

On the meanings that ugliness might mean, Saggart mentioned that it is necessary to go back to 25 centuries of writing - mostly masculine - to understand how ugliness is related to women.

This was mentioned in Greek mythology, the first human woman (Pandora) Zeus presented to Epimetheus as punishment for him, she was very beautiful, but she was a symbol of all the evils of humanity.

She went on to say that Hisodos describes Pandora as a beautiful young woman, but adds that she is "evil, vice and beautiful ugliness."

This myth also builds the thesis that a woman's beauty stems from her appearance and not from her being, but this does not apply to men.

Despite being a fictional character, Pandora can be considered an anti-philosopher of Socrates, as he is ugly on the outside but beautiful because he has a beautiful soul.

Female ugliness

The author added that female ugliness in ancient Greece refers to what philosophers and doctors considered part of a woman's nature as an imperfect being, from Aristotle to Thomas Daquin, where the female was considered an incomplete and deformed being.

Physiologically, women were considered more vulnerable.

On the level of mood, they are usually described as cold.

From ancient Greece until the Renaissance, the female was associated with physiological, intellectual and moral ugliness.

However, since the 17th century, this has gradually changed.

A woman's beauty and ugliness became more explicitly linked to her attitude and lifestyle.

The ugly ones are the ones who do not conform to the ideal of femininity (an attractive woman, a wife, a mother), and thus ugliness constituted a means of defaming the woman who is considered perverted.

Regarding the author's question about why we consider witches ugly, Saggart indicated that this is mostly related to their being self-sufficient, independent, unmarried, and not mothers, and they also possess knowledge as most of them were midwives and had a great knowledge of plants and herbs.

She added that witches appeared at a time when some women began to enjoy a kind of independence, so it was necessary to stand in the way of this independence so that the patriarchal system was not reviewed and knowledge was not shared.

Saggart notes that the word "witch" has always been associated with the image of a ugly woman, as ugliness is an industry that makes it possible to stigmatize women who have refused restrictions imposed on them.

The ugliness of the witch was made, in the same way as the ugliness of the peasant, the Jew, and the black-skinned.

Regarding the other women who were described as ugly, Saggart said that they are all who break the rule, for example elderly maids are described as horrible because they are single and without children.

And the author indicated that behind the ugliness disappears the fear of non-discrimination between the sexes, and the denial of equality between men and women.

Proudhon clearly wrote: "A woman should not hope for any equality, for equality will make her unpleasant and ugly."

But does this mean submission makes it beautiful?

The writer emphasized that in the 20th century, ugliness became linked to lack of self-control and surrender.

Women have gained rights and worked and are no longer dependent on men, but we will witness an unprecedented increase in the importance of physical appearance, especially because of the appearance of the mirror, then photography and cinema of course.

Some philosophers argue that a beautiful woman is necessarily stupid (Getty Images)

Cinema establishes standards of beauty

Saggart says that works such as David Lee Breton, Georges Figarilo or Gianfrança Amadeo portray the role of appearance in interpersonal relationships.

In education, for example, analyzes tell us that teachers, unconsciously, of course, are more patient in dealing with a cute child than a child with ugly traits.

Thus, calling someone ugliness can have tragic repercussions.

Commenting on why ugliness in cinema and television is not widely depicted, Saggart noted that very few people look great, while on TV you don't see many ugly faces.

Besides, there is a small percentage of women over 50 that play film roles.

Hence, old age is still considered an ugliness.

As Michel Tournier said sweetly, women must strive to be granted - like men - the "right to ugliness".

As for how to envision this revolution, the author replied that a greater diversity of faces and bodies should be presented in cinema, advertising and the media.

A man between 50 and 60 is not considered old, because the audience is accustomed to seeing the representation of such an age group.

We must pay more attention to the appearance of women of that age.