What defines beauty? Or in other words, who is beautiful? It may be overly optimistic to say that everyone is beautiful-that is impossible. If everyone is beautiful, then no one is beautiful. However, it does make sense to say that everyone is beautiful in their own way- in other words, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 |
Shortly after The Martian, I was obsessing over this beautiful face- my good friend Emily, however, was not so ecstatic
|
I was moved to write this blog post after reading Toni Morrison's reaction to the first time she saw "beauty" as "the force of which was equaled by the knowledge that no one recognized it... not even the one who possessed it". A fellow female classmate can definitely relate with the following situation: you're in the bathroom with a friend and she can't stop picking out her flaws and declaiming that she is "ugly". However, when we look at the mirror, we only see the impeccable characteristics that they seem to be oblivious to. So maybe that's the reason for the fuzzy outline of beauty- no one believes they are beautiful. Countless models we look up to daily in magazines body sham themselves (with the help of the press, of course). So the problem doesn't seem to be that there is no set characteristics that a person should be to be considered beautiful- rather, they are unattainable. No matter how skinny her waist is, or how flawless her hair looks, she still won't be perfect (at least to themselves).
 |
this does not apply to just females; males also get labeled for "hotness"
|
So is a L-shaped nose, blue eyes, and blonde hair the epitome of beauty? Or can a brown-skinned, curly-hair, and dusty brown eyes also be beautiful? The answer is yes; the problem is not everyone sees that. Toni Morrison's book explores what society deems to be beautiful and how people (specifically one lost child) react to these standards. In a nutshell, everyone is beautiful- it just takes the right person to see it (ends with a trite statement).
I like how you touched upon the fact that both females and males experience this "beauty standard" problem. It's really saddening to see someone not appreciate their own unique beauty. Good job Christina :))))
ReplyDeleteI can recall lots of magazines where they interview celebrities and they all talk about their flaws; even supermodels! Every generation experiences these kinds of things, but we have to learn from the cliche that "nobody's perfect".
ReplyDeleteHi Christina,
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that you said everyone can't be beautiful. I guess that's true, people can't be special if everyone is special, but it's also not true at the same time, everyone can be special in their own way, just not special in that definition. Interesting that beauty is and always will be subjective.
so very honored
ReplyDelete