Beauty Contest
1. “I just love it… It’s beautiful!” Everybody says this phrase quite often (hopefully), while the meaning of the notion beauty is something taken for granted. The false idea that beauty is something absolute, an absolute characteristic of something all people like, must be argued upon. People have so got used this word that in general its meaning is not discussed, and nearly everyone believes that he or she (as well as every single person on the planet) knows the exact meaning, and that beauty needs no definition. In reality, however, beauty is a very relative and even vague notion, which only exists within a person.
Concepts of beauty vary across cultures. While definition of beauty may stay the same, cultural, historical, and religious aspects mold our perception of beautiful objects, and human body (and apparel) appeared to be the most affected. Hence, Western image of a beautiful woman is distinct from Eastern one. While in the Western world a slim, slender, women with brilliant lipstick is considered beautiful, Eastern image of a beautiful woman is a plump white blond. And although some believe that the ideal of beauty in the Western world is a white girl, in reality this white girl must be sun-burnt to be a beauty role model.
The complete answers about our perception of beauty go deep into psychology and physiology. But on the top, every person describes and defines beauty for him/herself. Numerous studies have shown that the same object looked beautiful for one person, while it left the other person indifferent. Same way people, who look beautiful for person A, might not be person B’s type. As the saying goes, “tastes differ,” and it is exactly the same with the perception of the beautiful. However, one might counter-argue that there are several things that are beautiful for all people on the planet, something like Niagara waterfall for instance. This phenomenon is completely logical because after all we all are one species, and there must be some
Concepts of beauty vary across cultures. While definition of beauty may stay the same, cultural, historical, and religious aspects mold our perception of beautiful objects, and human body (and apparel) appeared to be the most affected. Hence, Western image of a beautiful woman is distinct from Eastern one. While in the Western world a slim, slender, women with brilliant lipstick is considered beautiful, Eastern image of a beautiful woman is a plump white blond. And although some believe that the ideal of beauty in the Western world is a white girl, in reality this white girl must be sun-burnt to be a beauty role model.
The complete answers about our perception of beauty go deep into psychology and physiology. But on the top, every person describes and defines beauty for him/herself. Numerous studies have shown that the same object looked beautiful for one person, while it left the other person indifferent. Same way people, who look beautiful for person A, might not be person B’s type. As the saying goes, “tastes differ,” and it is exactly the same with the perception of the beautiful. However, one might counter-argue that there are several things that are beautiful for all people on the planet, something like Niagara waterfall for instance. This phenomenon is completely logical because after all we all are one species, and there must be some
Bibliography: 1. HAMILTON, T. 2003. Beauty contests. From Database at 2. PRASHAD. V. 2000. Beauty queens and the capitalist beast. From Znet dailt commentaries at 3. SONES. M. 2004. About beauty. From Beauty Worlds at 4. WEST. K. 2003. Beauty and imitation: the theory of Rene Girard. From Beauty Worlds at 5. Questionable queens. 2005. From Indian Express at