Maura Gancitano: ‘To free ourselves from the tyranny of beauty is to stop seeing ourselves as decorative wrapping paper’

As a child, Maura Gancitano dreamed of being ugly and becoming a philosopher. She was convinced that if she wanted to be intelligent, she would have to forfeit beauty. A story in a school anthology — Beautiful and Attractive, by Madame Leprince de Beaumont, author of Beauty and the Beast — convinced her that beautiful women are stupid because they fail to cultivate their intellect, while ugly women attract attention on account of their wit.

As Gancitano grew up in Mazara del Vallo, she had the feeling that her boyish gait, sporty clothes, make-up-free face, bitten nails and unkempt hair went against social convention to the point of seeming immoral. A gender expert who writes for the Italian media, Gancitano has written several essays with her partner, editor Andrea Colamedici, on the subject. In her latest book, Mirror, Mirror. The Tyranny of Beauty, she invites us to rethink our idea of beauty beyond the current indoctrination.

She welcomes ideas at Tlon, her philosophy school, publishing house and theatrical bookstore, which has nearly 300,000 followers on social networks and is located in Ostiense, a working-class neighborhood of Rome. Surrounded by books, Gancitano talks to EL PAÍS about philosophy and current affairs.

Question: Do we live in an appearance dictatorship?

Answer. We live in a social system that puts beauty center stage, both for judging others and ourselves. Beauty is an obstacle and also a business card that offers some people access while excluding others. Decisions are made on who we are, what we know and what we can do on the basis of how we look.

Q. Can you explain how beauty interferes in our lives?

A. We tend to blame ourselves for not achieving the perfection we are supposed to aspire to. That’s when you see the interference of beauty. It affects behavior and mental health and leads to an inability to perceive our bodies as a whole. Instead, we see dark circles under the eyes; we focus on the nose, the mouth, the thighs... As if we were fragments that should be beautiful, not a body that belongs to us and that is there to serve us and help us do things. This fragmentation makes it difficult to feel free to do what we want.

Q. Have we always lived in what you call the “beauty prison” or is this a recent scenario?

A. It is a recent scenario that has emerged with the society of the masses, communications, and the cultural system of the 19th century that begins to talk about normal and abnormal bodies, constructing a norm to which we must adhere. It happens especially when women enter social spaces reserved for men where a certain appearance and attitude are expected. This has become more acute with advertising, magazines and television. And it has ended up extending to men as well.

Q. In what way?

A. Not only has the situation not improved for girls, it has become worse for boys. Compared to their grandparents, boys today have a relationship with their own bodies very similar to that of their female counterparts, with ideals to be achieved and certain criteria to be met.

Q. What led you to reflect on the tyranny of beauty?

A. There is a large percentage of women who suffer from the so-called imposter syndrome. And it’s not natural, it’s just a cultural thing. We are educated to feel that occupying the place we occupy is an anomaly, and that makes us feel unsafe. This generates problems in self-esteem and self-acceptance that have been more intense and widespread in the last 150 years than ever.

Q. What can we do to escape from this prison?

A. We should ask ourselves this question: are we doing what we really want to do or is it out of a sense of guilt, duty, or a bid to satisfy what others expect of us? Freeing ourselves from the tyranny of beauty does not mean abandoning creams or makeup. It is rather about not perceiving ourselves as decorative wrapping paper that must be beautiful and pleasing to others, which unfortunately is something we are constantly encouraged to do. We should learn to move away from certain images of perfection and develop a positive body image. It is important that there is a collective awareness and discussion on the topic.

Q. Do you think your life would have been easier if your body had not been subjected to public scrutiny?

A. Yes. I come from the South, where there is this idea that you should always act with others in mind. This is something that requires too much energy, time, money, and effort and you don’t always want to make that effort. There are women who really enjoy doing their make-up every day, but for the vast majority it is just a social duty. That is, you have to do it because otherwise you pay the consequences; you invite criticism. But you have to find a balance.

Q. Is the rise of the ultra-right generating a setback for women?

A. This government has focused on pushing women to have children and preventing them from having an abortion at all costs. The idea of having control over one’s own body is threatened. They say they are working for women, but they have really done nothing. If they want to overcome the current demographic crisis, they have to guarantee economic and labor stability for women, a balance in care and paternity leave.

Q. Why aren’t we seeing more protests in Italy in response to certain restrictive policies implemented by the far-right government?

A. We Italians are not much inclined to demonstrate. We look enviously at what happens in other countries but tend to resign ourselves. There is a lot of fragmentation. Even the progressive parties have strong Catholic pockets that agree with certain government policies, such as those related to abortion.

Q. Until recently, Giorgia Meloni’s party was practically a marginal option. How did the situation change?

A. Nowadays, declaring oneself anti-fascist is seen as divisive; it’s not something that unites the entire political spectrum anymore. Instead, it is seen as exaggerated, a paranoia. In the younger generations, calling oneself a fascist is almost a legitimate identity, suggesting strength. We are seeing cases of bullying in schools with fascist connotations; kids who make the fascist salute in class.

Q. How does politics help to normalize situations that would otherwise set off alarm bells?

A. We have ministers of the Republic who are reluctant to declare themselves anti-fascists.

Q. Giorgia Meloni is denouncing intellectuals who have criticized her origins and her policies. Is there a crackdown in Italy regarding reflection and criticism?

A. These are the so-called reckless lawsuits. They serve to block journalists and intellectuals. It also means blocking freedom of the press and expression. They use it as a warning: better not do anything, better not go against. It is something that the dictator Benito Mussolini did. And it should really scare us.

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