"A thing of beauty is a joy forever; Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness." - John Keats
Quotes about beauty and not just the physical, outer appearance kind but also about inner beauty abound. There are thousands of sayings about how beauty will fade, how beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, about how what matters at the end of the day is what is on the inside. But none of these quotations ever seem to answer the question, what is beauty. It is a difficult question and any answer is a subjective answer making it impossible for one person to determine for the planet at large, the definition of beauty.
Despite the varying ideas about true beauty that we have, research studies have shown that across cultures the perception of beauty has many similarities. While the protagonist Irene Van De Kamp of the comic strip Good Girls, with her lip plate adornment, may not fit this general perception of natural beauty, most people tend to find the same things beautiful. This is very evident by the hysteria that surrounds stars like Robert Pattinson, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie who regularly find their names on lists of the most beautiful people in the world.
What is the Meaning of Beauty?
What makes a beautiful face? Defining beauty can be traced back to the theories put forward by thinkers and philosophers like Pythagoras who put forward a connection between mathematics and beauty. According to this, those faces (and objects) that were proportioned in accordance to the golden ratio were more appealing and beautiful than others. Symmetry has always been an important consideration while defining beauty. A face with symmetry is always more attractive that faces that are lopsided or have imperfections. Another factor that plays a part while defining beauty is a concept know as averageness put forward by Francis Galton. He observed that overlapping images of people to form composite images results in a more attractive image than individuals.
Is beauty really skin deep? According to many researchers, physical beauty is always enhanced by a measure of inner beauty. A person may have all the necessary features to be physically beautiful but without inner warmth, the person will be perceived as cold. While outer beauty and appearance is made up of factors like health, youth, symmetry, averageness, skin, complexion, etc. defining what is inner beauty depends on characteristics like politeness, intelligence, charisma, elegance, personality, etc. Many women who are considered to fit the ideal of beauty are also so considered due to an ideal waist to hip ratio which is about 0.7.
The reason it is difficult to determine beauty is because the factors that determine beauty are always evolving. This is caused by an influence of the media and what it determines as beautiful. So you see people aping unhealthy trends like being extremely skinny. The opposite is true for the country Mauritania where fatness is considered an asset for marriage and women are force-fed to make them obese. Such exceptions are why beauty cannot be defined objectively and why people keep looking for answers to questions like how to be beautiful. For many years beauty was also defined as being predominantly Caucasian. This led to the cultural movement black is beautiful. With models like Naomi Campbell taking center stage, beauty (or the perception of it) became more all-encompassing. Today children from mixed marriages are generally perceived to be more attractive due to their diverse gene pool.
The comparisons caused due to standard of beauty have often led to resentment amongst people. Research has found that people who are beautiful tend to more successful at their work place. They also tend to be better equipped at mate selection. There is a tendency amongst people to view individuals who are beautiful are more honest, nice and approachable as compared to unattractive people. People who do not fit into the society's compartments of beauty tend to be ostracized and ridiculed. These are traits that have been showcased in shows like Ugly Betty. But this same trend also works the other way round. Many beautiful people are harassed for looking the way they do as people tend to believe that they get everything they want on the basis of their appearance.
So, what is beauty? It is difficult to answer the question as there is no one factor that defines beauty. It is cumulative of inner strength and physical appearance. D.H. Lawrence once said, "Beauty is an experience, nothing else. It is not a fixed pattern or an arrangement of features. It is something felt, a glow or a communicated sense of fineness." Maybe we should just agree with him.
