Beauty

Pregnant women face it all the time -- the fat comments. "Yep, she's round like a pumpkin." "Wow. You're getting fat!" "You remind me of a pregnant cow." And the list could go on and on. Why do women feel that they have to defend themselves after comments like that?
I remember one time at a family gathering going to the buffet line for a second helping during the meal. My cousin cheered me on -- that I would eat even though I am a woman. What is it that makes women think they can't eat?
Some would claim that it's a health issue, but I disagree. As far as I can recall few, if any, have ever expressed any concern about my thin husband's choice of unhealthy snacks.
I think about the women I admire. I admire them for their forgiving spirit, their hope in the midst of trials, their humility and compassion for others, their devotion to prayer. I do not think I have ever said to myself, "I want to be just like that older woman because she is so good-looking." And yet I compare myself to an image of what I think physical beauty should be.
Who decides what is beautiful?
I do not think we can say that beauty is unimportant. I know God says that a woman is to adorn herself with a gentle and quiet spirit. In I Samuel, God tells us that man looks on the outward appearance, but He looks on the heart. That's why He choose David for King, but in the next few verses God tells us that David is good-looking. God made a beautiful world. Little girls seems to naturally like dresses and twirling and bows. It seems to be something God created them with. Maybe our view of beauty is just too limited. A man typically does not marry a woman that he does not find attractive, but his opinion could be different than the next man's opinion. Maybe a better view would be to think that we are all beautiful in our own way -- created beautiful, somehow to portray the beauty of the Creator. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.