Beautiful. This word will conjure up a different image for
everyone. Think of the most beautiful person you know; why do you think they
are beautiful? More importantly, what defines them as beautiful and why might
they not be considered beautiful by somebody else? This articles discusses the
diverse interpretation of beauty.
From a broader point of view, different cultures from around
the world see different aspects of a person to be considered beautiful than
that of traditional Western values. An example of this is the proportions of a
woman vastly variety regarding what is considered beautiful between these two
cultures. As Africa is considered a poor country, being fat is deemed to be a
sign of wealth, the larger the women, the more attractive she appears to be.
However, within Western society, women are desperately spending vast amounts of
money and time trying to become skinny: joining gyms, dieting, even going as
far as weight loss surgery. It is complete opposite to that of African
perception. With celebrity culture becoming an obsession in the West, this
culture not only looks up to, but also mimics the appearance of celebrities and
fashion models, who are all very slim, if not underweight. Even from discussing
one factor that contributes towards beauty; already it is evident that the
concept of beauty around the world is extremely vast, after looking at only two
cultures, the difference in perception is staggering. For further discussion on
cultural difference in beauty, the article ‘Eye of the beholder', also on my blog.
Looking closer to home; consider celebrities that most
people find attractive, take Kiera Knightly and Beyoncé. Two very contrasting
looks; first let’s take a look at Beyoncé: dark skinned, powerful, heavier
build, very curvy and voluptuous, then there’s Kiera: very fair skinned,
slender, skinny and appears quite reserved. Despite the two opposing looks,
they are both deemed to be very attractive women. This suggests there is no
step-by-step guide to what attributes a person needs to possess to look
beautiful to others.
Although a lot of factors remain the same within the concept
of beautiful; for example, despite the two women I used as an example for
comparative beauty: Beyoncé and Kiera Knightly, having opposing attributes, if
you closely, there are many similar factors between these two women. This
factors seem to link to beauty within most Western ideals: good skin, symmetrical
faces, straight, white teeth, hair in good condition, although Kiera is slender
and Beyoncé toned, they are both fit, with fat appearing to be considered
unbeautiful.
Just when it appears I have discovered the definition of
beauty, with Beyoncé and Kiera’s similarities; extreme beauty in Western
society comes into play. Extreme beauty could be anything, but the main forms
are: body modification, excessive tattoos and piercings. The excessive
tattooing and piercing speaks for itself, but body modification may need
further explaining. If you are unsure of what this is, it can be anything that
distorts or deforms the body, such as: surgery, implants, tongue splitting,
branding and body suspension, just to name a few. It is advised not to search
these things online if you have a weak stomach. However, although this may be
considered a controversial form of beauty, it has to be appreciated as beauty.
Is getting surgery to give yourself horns any better or worse than getting a
nose job? That too is distorting your original look.
It appears that beauty is not something that can be quickly
defined within a magazine article, but that it is something a lot deeper than
that. Although certain cultures may have an ideal or typical form of beauty, in
the end it is the individual that determines who they believe to be beautiful.
It seems that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder; and who are we to
argue against that?
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