On Beauty

- Trina Epilepsia Boutain

It seems that even the most beautiful and successful aren’t immune to the snide comments and insidious nitpicking of internet trolls. Imagine having something horrible to say to someone who’s won the title of Miss Universe? What about saying something to a sixty-year-old grandmother with a lifetime of achievements under her belt? For Pia Wurtzbach and Charo Santos-Concio, these are par for the course, things that come with the territory of fame and glamour; the words can sting but from them, a beautiful story emerges.

Beauty has always been a double-edged sword for many women. Add fame and the black hole that is the internet comments sections and it’s no wonder that many females often feel like they’re constantly fighting for the right to own their looks, bodies and perceptions of self. After years of keeping a relatively low profile, Santos-Concio made waves by appearing on the cover of MEGA magazine, looking beautiful as ever, and enviably sexy, even clad in a trench coat. “MEGA started it all,” she says of that time. Other publications followed suit and soon the media executive, television host and actress found herself the target of malicious comments, telling her to act her age. “