Betsy Byars Quotes

I knew I had a great figure, but I never regarded myself as beautiful.

People think we really look good. I think that's the biggest misconception people have.

It can be a real struggle to accept that sometimes appearance can be more important than talent or intelligence.

How we look - though it is superficial and immutable - has a huge impact on our lives.

It is better to look good than to feel good.

I like to look nice, but I'm not marketing being beautiful.

You don't think people would go on about my looks if I was No. 500 in the world instead of No.12, do you? Anyway, as I keep telling everyone, you can't blame me for looking like this on purpose.

It's how you look at beauty. Is it only an outward appearance with hair and makeup and a hot body, or is it something deeper than that?

I don't think what I look like is relevant.

I wonder if it is harder for a woman who was beautiful to get older or a woman who was never looked at.

I understand that the average person can't imagine damaging their looks in any way if it could be avoided. But I don't value my physical beauty to the point where I would not do something I truly enjoy because I'm afraid of potentially hurting something superficial.

People put too much emphasis on looks.

I do not know if she was virtuous, but she was ugly, and with a woman that is half the battle.

I do maintain that if your hair is wrong, your entire life is wrong.

A woman who cannot be ugly is not beautiful.

Something in the human psyche confuses beauty with the right to be loved. The briefest glance at human folly reveals that good looks and worthiness operate independently. Yet countless socializing forces, from Aunt Clara to the latest perfume ad, reinforce beliefs like 'If I were pretty enough, I would be loved.'

If I were old, fat and ugly, I don't know if anybody would be interested in me.

We're teaching our kids that attributes as vague and relatively meaningless as a toothy smile or a fine head of hair make a fine statement about a person.

I would rather be nuts than unattractive.

Looks are temporary and don't mirror what's inside. And usually, a great looking man is so vain. Maybe most good-looking women are too. I hope I'm not!

Women are often worried about how they look, and that's not superficial. We know that our appearance has nothing to do with how smart, creative, or hardworking we are, but it plays powerfully into what society decides we are worth.

I don't understand that if you look wonderful, does that make you less important, less powerful, less serious?

It's hard to always be reduced to the way you look or your sex appeal or what that is.

I changed my thinking on the whole subject of what it is to be attractive. It's fine, but I know that ultimately what I am and who I am is not cheekbones and a jawline, if you catch my drift. I ultimately know that who I am is not directly proportional to abs or straight teeth.

What's good about not being a model is that it's not the thing I trade on. Once I start looking older, that won't affect me. I have never gotten anything done because I'm, like, so gorgeous. I'm good-looking enough that I can work in the business.