Woozle your post comes across as very defensive. Notice I made it clear that women's self esteem was boosted by, rather than dependent on, looking good. That's true, whether you like it or not. The vast majority of women are not happy when they feel they look awful.
Not taking any interest in ones appearance is also a very well documented sign of mental ill health. It's not a ridiculous statement at all. Again it's true, whether you like it or not. I agree that there are questions of degree however. One persons taking an interest is anothers impossibly vain, fair enough. But it is often a symptom of low level depression when women stop making much of an effort with themselves - this is something I have noticed both personally and professionally. Stating that doesn't mean I think every woman wearing fleece is mentally unwell for goodness sake! You're putting two and two together and making five.
If you're happy with the way you are then good for you. But you don't present as being very happy with the way you are when you feel the need to come and shout at strangers online for expressing a view. If you don't care and are perfectly happy with the way you look, then why are you even in this section reading this thread? It's perfectly clear I've touched a nerve.
And actually Plathism, these exact same things hold true for men. They are not under the same societal pressure as women to be appealing, for sure, but they still feel better about themselves if they feel they look good, just like everyone else. The entire animal kingdom makes efforts to preen and look attractive to potential partners. Humans are no different.