Beauty! Beauty! Beauty! Where can it be placed? Different definitions have been projected but the truth is every individual has his or her own way of defining beauty. The concern is, are there set standards of beauty or does it lie in the eyes of the beholder?
The definition of beauty in most cases reflects the individual perspective towards something. One might look at something and say that it is beautiful and another look at it and say it is ugly. Is beauty the physical characteristics of a person or something or is it what comes from the inner self regardless of the physical outlook? Lim (par. 1) cites that when men are asked about female beauty they all project that it is happiness and healthiness rather than physical outlook.
Catwalks and even beauty pageants have been hosted in different parts of the world to determine who is the most beautiful of all. To bring this to light the winner is an outcome of a decision of the personal view of beauty from the panelist. Lim (pa. 3) says that people often use the phrase that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, but surprisingly when they are asked to chose the beautiful person separately they all reach the same conclusion.
Lim (par.4) quotes the conclusion reached by the article “What is beauty anyway?” The article cited that when men are asked to describe a beautiful woman they narrow down their explanation to two things: Happy and Health. Nothing is mentioned about the eyes or the nose or the hair or other physical aspects of the body.
Lim (par.5) further analyzes these two points. When someone is happy there is a glow in his eyes, there is positive energy in the activities he does and this pulls others towards himself. When the same person is sad the attraction fades away and the push force is evident. Lim talks of babies as being reflectors of people’s feelings and this helps in the definition of beauty. The baby will smile back when you do likewise because they are pulled to a happy face.
The other aspect of beauty is health, Lim (par.6). This does not mean that we should have a perfect shape like that of Beyonce. Being healthy means eating well, doing exercises regularly, sleeping enough, and managing stress in a good way.
According to researchers what is considered beautiful is directly proportional to the symmetry of the body and the face Lim (par.7). People pick up bad habits as they grow up and this leads them to have a disproportional balance of their bodies. For example, young boys as they grow up they tend to walk in a bending style which they see as fashionable, women tend to carry very heavy bags which puts much weight on one side. This makes one be asymmetrical and loses the touch of being beautiful.
Beauty has been discussed and debated in a wide spectrum in the past and even today, but what has been highlighted in the essay is of high importance. Being happy and healthy are the key points of what beauty is. Happiness comes from within and health is a reflection of what one feels inside. Therefore, beauty can be placed in the cocoon of happiness and health for the time being, but wide research of what beauty it should be done as this will increase the probability of pointing to a certain direction that clearly explains what beauty is.
Works Cited.
Lim, L. What is beauty? The real definition of a woman. 2006. Web.