Give her back her illusion of beauty

[MrMan]

I remember watching this Star Trek episode when I was a kid, the pilot episode which had Captain Pike. He goes through all these scenarios with a reasonably attractive earth female. Finally, he discovers that some big-headed aliens are putting him and the girl into a series of illusions hoping that they will produce some babies so the aliens will have some slaves. Pike fights back and he aliens let him go. The girl turns out to be badly deformed after the aliens had put her back together after a wreck.

Pike says to the aliens, you will give her back her illusion of beauty. The aliens do so.

I remember laughing at that. What good is it for her to have an 'illusion of beauty' deserted on a planet with some big-headed aliens who know how ugly she is? These weren't attractive aliens with just a few extra Star Trek ridges, either. I laughed at the idea as a kid, that Pike wanted her to have an 'illusion of beauty.'

I discussed this with my wife, and she said that even if she were alone by herself, she would still care if she's pretty. I didn't get the point of a woman wanting to look pretty if there is no man around. I suppose I didn't care much what I looked like if there were no women around, or no attractive women around.

Of course, thinking about it, it makes sense if Pike in the pilot episode universe of Trek wasn't surrounded by pretty girls and wanted to see an illusion of a pretty girl he'd grown to like before leaving. The woman next to him in the clip, (Roddenberry's wife was it?) isn't bad looking.

I thought this might make for some ruminations about the female mind, how beauty is a part of their identity? Do they all want to look pretty even if there is no point to looking pretty (like being attractive for us men)? Would you men care if you looked attractive if there were no women around on a planet or deserted island?

[Gali]

We live in dreams so everything that helps to keep the illusion alife helps.

I have a thought that goes into that direction. What happens when you see yourself as very good looking when you look into the mirror but everybody thinks you are ugly? That must have some funny effects on the psyche.

[flowerthief00]

I think you are onto something. I've noticed it too. One obvious clue that women obsessing over beauty goes beyond anything to do with men is that very young girls start playing dress-up before the age when they have begun to notice boys.

Something I noticed when I was experimenting with trying to approach women in different locations.... Pretty much the worst location to try to approach women (aside from bars) is clothing shops. They will totally shut you down in such places. Any place that has to do with fashion, beauty, make-up, etc.

I think that us men when we shop for clothing, unless it's a suit and tie for work, have in our heads the question, "Will this attract women?" Now suppose that while you were in the middle of shopping for clothes, a women who was at least decent-looking approached you. Would you be like, "Go away. I'm busy shopping for clothes in order to attract a woman who is at least decent-looking." That wouldn't make any sense.

Yup, there is something deep (dare I say narcissistic?) going on in the female psyche when it comes to wanting to look beautiful, an evolutionary adaptation from times when survival depended on having a man committed to her welfare, and the tendency became so strong that it persists even in situations where there are no men around to care.