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Does anyone else ever feel a bit sort of ... genetically inferior?

80 replies

QuimReaper · 11/05/2016 18:13

I have:

  • Thin, fine, straight hair, mousey in colour, that grows at a snail's pace and seems to snap with the slightest provocation. (And is now greying, at 27!) It is the BANE OF MY LIFE and I am always sighing over people with lovely epic tresses
  • Hypoplastic teeth with some that just never came through, meaning they're spaced and some of them are spindly and it's so hard to keep them white.
  • Milk bottle pale skin which looks OK if it's clear and nice, but ANY amount of acne, sleep deprivation, sun damage etc. shows up like crazy and takes forever to fade
  • Bendy nails so I could never have talons (not that I want them, but still...)
  • A naturally quite slim figure, but not one that has ever looked good in a bikini, even when there wasn't an ounce of fat on me. Looked nice when clothed, but scrawny when unclothed, and a sort of round belly even when I was skinny as a rake. I'm now 10-14lbs heavier than that and although I'm right in the middle of the Healthy BMI, the weight sits horribly on my frame, it's all spare tyre, flabby upper arms and a bit of a double chin.


I actually scrub up OK if I say so meself, but it's constant work. Hair needs to be styled to look like anything; nails manicured; teeth have been invisaligned even to just look "normal" (as opposed to perfect, and I didn't get the bottom ones done which I should have); SPF 50 all year round and constant fingers crossed / tips and tricks to avoid breakouts; desperate to lose those extra pounds so I don't look a fright in my wedding photos, etc. I would love to be able to be less of a slave to it all.

I feel like some of my friends look like Thoroughbreds beside me. One in particular is such an English Rose, hair sprouting in gorgeous masses out of her head, strong straight teeth, pale but in a lovely rosy way, and never had a pimple in her life; AND although she carries more weight, it all seems to go into a gorgeous hourglass Envy

Not looking for tips as such, just wondering if anyone else feels similarly disadvantaged by their genetics and wants to commiserate!
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DingbatsFur · 11/05/2016 18:17

Ha ha ha
I know what you mean.
I'm a solidly built woman and most of the timw it doesn't bother me that I look like I should pulling a plough or invading something while carrying a pitchfork.
I was applying makeup the other day in work and this beautiul creature stood next to me. All masses of hair, big eyes and little delicate ankles.
Sigh, it's like we were two different species.

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QuimReaper · 11/05/2016 18:17

(Obviously I do realise I'm also extremely, incredibly lucky to be healthy - this is very much a S&B post, and not a general Woe Is Me one.)

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mrsgiraffes · 11/05/2016 18:21

I sound identical to you, apart from the weight thing, I'm a bit heavier Wink

I guess there's some gene or deficiency that links crap hair to crap nails. Everyone I know with amazing nails also has amazing thick hair. The buggers.

The teeth are also a pain but I guess I'm just used to them now.

What do you do with your hair? I'd love to do something exciting with it but all the styling ideas for fine hair on YouTube are never actually with people who actually have fine hair! I just part it off centre and let it hang but I'd love to be able to put a plait or something in without it looking so shit.

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murphyslaws · 11/05/2016 18:24

I'm short
I'm dumpy
I got frizzy hair
I'm pale (reflective pale)

Fuxk it, I'm a lovly bubbly warm caring person.

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Vanessamessa · 11/05/2016 18:25

Ha! My sister is a goddess! Big blue eyes, blonde, beautiful face, tall and lean. I look like an f'ing bloke, lantern jaw, broad shouldered with a pot belly. Apparently we have the same parents... 🤔

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FutureGadgetsLab · 11/05/2016 18:25

Yes and no. I'm really lucky in some respects. I have huge eyes and thick hair that can take a battering, and clear skin.

However I also have stretch marks, a big nose and naturally bad posture.

I work on myself to make sure I look immaculate most of the time but I do wish that I had a bit less to do

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Mishaps · 11/05/2016 18:29

Oh get a grip! We are all lovely in our own way. Have some pride in yourselves! Genetically inferior - that's crazy. Don't buy into all these ideas about how you should look - you all sound lovely to me.

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RapidlyOscillating · 11/05/2016 18:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

burnishedsilver · 11/05/2016 19:03

Your sister isn't necessarily getting the better deal there rapidly.

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CookieDoughKid · 11/05/2016 19:03

I'm a pint sized 5ft. Size 8 top half. Size 12 bottom half as I have wide hips, bum and muscly thighs and calves that measure 14inches circumference. I feel like I'm two different halves put together . What I'd give just to be a little taller and be able to wear skirts. Hate being shouted by man in white van for having footballer legs! Hate not being to wear normal high street boots! !

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spankhurst · 11/05/2016 19:05

Quimreaper, have you ever taken supplements to help your hair and nails? Pale is OK, I'm midlde aged and very pale and have discovered that decades of diligent sunscreening have spared me wrinkles. You sound perfectly fine to me from your description!

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MadisonMontgomery · 11/05/2016 19:08

Yes definitely. I think I got all the rubbish genes available - my dad is naturally slim, with fab green eyes, full head of black hair even tho he's late 50's, and lovely olive skin, and my mum was also naturally slim, with blonde hair & lovely chocolate eyes & perfect fair skin. I am naturally fat, with reasonably nice brown hair, a mucky mix of their eye colours, and freckly. There is no justice.

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AnnaMarlowe · 11/05/2016 19:09

Right Quim that's enough of that.

Can we have a list if the things that are fabulous about you please?

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SayAGreatBigThankyou · 11/05/2016 19:11

All of the above AND my hair is falling out. No sisters, thankfully Grin.

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314PrettySweetMamaJammer · 11/05/2016 19:15

I know what you mean OP. My teeth need a lot of work (periodontist, orthodontist). Sometimes I ask people if they had a brace, and no they just woke up with julia roberts teeth in their mouth.

my hair is very thick and frizzy. Like op, it's nice when it's blow dried as it's thick but omg, on a day to day basis. like a pp, my mum is dark and spanish and my dad is fair and nordic and i am blah in the middle

I also watch what I eat carefully and do loads of exercise and I don't obviously look like a person who watches their diet and exercises 4 times a week.

Also, strange hairs but I won't get in to that.

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Pisssssedofff · 11/05/2016 19:15

My sister and I are total opposites and what she loves about me I hate and vice versa

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314PrettySweetMamaJammer · 11/05/2016 19:18

i have to google hypoplastic teeth now. I might have that too Wink

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Coldtoeswarmheart · 11/05/2016 19:23

Oh God yes. There are people I just don't stand near if I can help it.

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ShelaghTurner · 11/05/2016 19:26

Absolutely yes every minute of my life. I have horrible frizzy hair, skin that turns purple in the cold and burns in the heat, I'm short and fat with big boobs and footballer's legs. I've never been pretty or even passingly attractive. In my next life I want to be Debbie Harry.

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cosytoaster · 11/05/2016 19:30

Yes - everything about me is wide and squat - I think if I'm ever DNA tested I'd have a high proportion of neanderthal genes. Small feet but v wide, big wide hands, weirdly shaped nails that just don't look like anyone else's . I also can't apply blusher to the 'apples' of my cheeks because I don't seem to have any, just a big flat expanse of face. On the plus side I do have good teeth Grin

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QuimReaper · 11/05/2016 19:36

Ha Anna

OK fine - I'll admit to fab legs, nice blue eyes and a nice plump mouth.

Since you insist Grin

I do know it's not all that bad, and as PPs have said there are plenty of workarounds, it just seems part of a package - everything is weak and fragile and crumbly. Like the runt of the litter.

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MsBojangles · 11/05/2016 19:37

This thread has made me well up a bit because I've felt exactly the same since about the age of 12, I'm nearly 42 now. It's reassuring in a horribly selfish kind of way that others experience the same feelings of inferiority, makes me feel less of a freak.

If it was just one or two flaws then I think I could cope with that, get them 'fixed' maybe but because it's literally everything that's third rate there's bugger all I can do really, except the constant, exhausting maintenance just to look vaguely acceptable.

I always assumed that age would be the great leveller, that the beauties would wither and we'd all end up equal, except that's not how it works is it - the genetically gifted age better, those superior skin genes and strong, robust bone structure age like wine and not milk.

Believe it or not I'm quite a cheerful soul in real life Grin

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QuimReaper · 11/05/2016 19:39

mrs heated rollers! A total godsend, the only way I can style my hair that doesn't fall flat in twenty minutes! And the next day I dry shampoo it and it keeps a bit of texture and body.

Also Velcro rollers for special occasions, but they are very time-intensive - again, in order to have any staying power they need to go on wet hair and stay in for hours until it's all dry, so I only do it for nights out when I don't have daytime plans and there won't be a stiff breeze!

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herecomesthsun · 11/05/2016 19:40

Ah yes, I wanted to be Debbie Harry when I was 18! I am now 52, I think of the positives instead of the negatives. If you hair looks good blowdried then blowdry it when you can, emphasise the nice things about your figure, life is too short to focus on all the bad bits! Fix the things you can if it isn't too much effort/ expense and you want to do it, and reconcile yourself with the rest.

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squizita · 11/05/2016 19:42

I fear I might out myself but - I'm a twin. Fraternal. One of us looks like a classic all American beach babe, the other like a poster girl for scrawny undergo charity cases.
Guess which I am. Blush The cost in bronzer and hair dye is phenomenal. Also need heels to reach the shelves in shops. Got mistaken - in a bad way - for a teen mum when pregnant in my late 30s, so not even coolly youthful.

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