Let's not be hot.

I'd really rather not be "hot". Hot isn't an adjective I want anyone to use to describe me. Hot earns unwanted attention, hot is a word used to describe actresses, models, musicians. It's a flat term that blankets a vague sense of attractiveness.

I've recently lost a good deal of weight. I'm so glad that no one has told me that I'm looking "hot", even though I'm now technically in the "ideal weight" category. I'd much rather hear that I'm looking healthy and strong.

At the end of the day, I'd rather be interesting. I'd rather fly under the radar of "conventional beauty". I'd rather be surprising, mysterious, different, weird. The size of my bust-waist-hips should be irrelevant to your opinion of me. If you think I'm pleasant looking, that's great. If you think I'm beautiful, I'm going to question it when you tell me, because I am a human being - I am insecure, uncertain, hesitant. I know I'm not perfect. I never want to be a "perfect 10". I know I can work with what my momma gave me: costumes aren't just for the stage. You can dress to flaunt your positive aspects, you can dress to play them down. You can show the world one side of you, while hiding the others. You can change who you project to the world.

As a costumer, I know that the best reviews are the most involved ones: the ones where the critics really thought about the work, the effort that went into the garments and how they related to the other elements of the play.  If a reviewer just said "she made [character] look hot" and that was all the review entailed? Trash that paper. Waste of time.

Same thing for daily life. "All the world's a stage, and the men and women merely players" - Shakespeare said it best in As You Like It. If I put energy, time, thought into being the best person I can be and at the end of the day, all that's said about me is that I am "hot"... clearly I would be disappointed. Let's stop reducing each other to simple objects, and start appreciating the reality.

Have you ever read the dictionary? Used a thesaurus? There are lots of words out there to show our appreciation of each others' appearances AND personalities. Let's start using them again.