Defining Beauty
What are the standards for physical beauty in our/your culture? How do we form our opinions about who or what is“beautiful”? Where do we look to define beauty? What physical traits do you think are beautiful (you wish you had, or find beautiful on others...)
There are many different beauty standards in different cultures. In my culture (I'm german), the beauty standard is to be tall and skinny, pretty, have long hair and dress nice, for women. It's not something that somebody just decides, the beauty standard is what the majority goes for. We form our own opinions about who or what is defined as beautiful. Beautiful comes in many different ways, shapes and sizes. I think females are more likely to not judge people by the way they look while men go more for looks. But that's just what I personally think. There are beauty standards for both genders. In my culture boys are usually very tall, and brunette, the same goes for girls, they're also usually tall, but the majority has blonde hair. So if you're a short boy it's rather hard to find a girl since girls mostly go for guys that are taller than they are. I think that everybody can have their own preference when it comes to who they find attractive, since you can't control what you like. I think good physical traits depend on the person and what they look like. It also depends on the person on what your beauty standards are. I'm pretty tall, and so I would only go for taller guys, this point might not be as important to short girls. To each its own, but I don't think that people should compete and make themselves try to look a certain way, just to be somebody's type.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up the beauty standards was being white, skinny, long blonde hair and with blue eyes because I grow up in a country that was still under the mentality of communism. I think we form opinions about who or what is beautiful based on society. Most people are insecure and they don't have the self conference that they are beautiful as they are, and because of that they agree with the popular vote of what and who is beautiful because they want to be accepted and they want approval from people. I personally find a lot of physical traits beautiful for example curly hair, black hair, skinny , being tall, bony knee caps, light blue or light green or light brown eyes, tan skin etc. I don't think I struggle a lot with my physical traits, besides being taller, because from when I was small I had this mentality of if you going to like me for me you won't care how I look.
ReplyDeleteIn my culture beauty standards was having white/very light skin, long hair, high nose bridge, large eyes, v shape jaw, tall, skinny and etc. I learned beauty standards of my culture by the people around me like when I was younger, my relatives would always complement my nose and for my sister her large eyes. Beauty standards make people very insecure because it is basically saying you are ugly if you don't look like this but I feel like it's better to love yourself because it is the only body you have and you create new beauty standards for yourself because everyone is unique. I think we can find beauty standards form the region where they came from and we define beauty from what we the traits we see from that region. I think a smile is really beautiful. I wish I was taller and skinner because that is considered beautiful in my culture. I also wish I have larger eyes and a lighter pupil because my eyes are very dark and my friends joke I have no soul.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the standards of beauty? The standard of beauty is essentially a variable standard of what it means to be attractive on the feminine beauty ideals that are present in a given culture. In my Culture beauty can be seen in many ways. The beauty found within Dominicans are those who are responsible, level headed, and can take care of family. Of course like with mostly every society and culture, Beauty is also defined by appearances: Fair skinned, long hair, and thin noses. When I was young, I didn't see the color of ones skin, hair texture/ length, or the structure of their nose, I saw the true beauty within: personality. I didn't care about appearances because I felt like being yourself was enough. However, overtime it became evident that society formed a scale. A scale that determines how beautiful you look, and that scale changed everyones perspective. Do you remember the moments where all you wanted to do was play with your friends, no matter their appearance? That scales makes it impossible for a kid just to be a kid without looking at whats on the outside. That scale makes it impossible for you not to notice your flaws. I know we heard this a lot when we were younger, but its time you hear it again, for we all need a lesson on how to treat each other better: NOBODY'S PERFECT. We shouldn't be compared, we shouldn't be rated, and we shouldn't let one definition of beauty define a whole population of deferent people. Sadly, society is going to continue to compare, but I won't fall into that habit. I see every scar just as beautiful as smooth skin. I see every curl just as beautiful as straight hair. I see every crooked smile just as beautiful as great teeth. Everyone is beautiful because there scars, curls, and crooked smiles express their backgrounds and where they come from, and thats just beautiful isn't it?
ReplyDeleteStandards for physical beauty are diverse, but also similar in some aspects around the world. In my culture, girls are expected to be tall, skinny, and have long hair in order to be considered as beautiful. Girls are expected to take care of themselves by implementing self-care into their daily lives. They are expected to dress more elegantly rather than wear street wear. Wearing elegant clothes means that you wear dresses, skirts, and nice tops. You can wear some nicer form of pants, but jeans are rather seen as pants that are used to run for errands. Most women in Poland are taller than the typical women’s height. On the other hand, men are expected to be tall, have their muscles toned a bit, and keep their hair not long. Some men shave, while others have beards, but keep them groomed. If you are a shorter man, then you will have a more difficult time when trying to get a girlfriend and eventually a wife. Most men like women to not wear too much makeup and to be natural-looking. We form our opinions about what is “beautiful” by observing celebrities, models, business professionals, and other individuals. Personally, I love having bluish-greenish eyes and I am happy the way I look. I may like to have a bit lighter hair during the fall and winter seasons, but my hair does get lighter during the summer when I stay out in the sun.
ReplyDeleteThe meaning of beauty changes over time. It's important to understand that the connotations for "beauty" are endless. In my eyes, I could be America's top model, in other people's eyes, I could be the model for a trash bag advertisement, not that I don't mind. So, what does it really mean to be beautiful? My definition of beauty is that of the soul. Yes, you have to be beautiful on the inside to be beautiful on the outside, you have to love yourself the way you are and be fair to others (yes, fair, no sass unless they offended your mother); the principles that make you are the ones that define you, looking good is just and addition. My culture does not really have a certain standard, since times are changing, social media is the one that set standards for generally everyone, I remember my cousin ( a 25 year old) talking about getting Botox to look like Angelina Jolie, nobody is forcing her, but she just wants to because other women are doing it. Considering that I am part of a big culture, being Hispanic, I think is a factor that generally forces other girls to feel pressured to look a certain way, it doesn't matter if you are Ecuadorian, Columbian, Mexican, Dominican etc. you would always want to be like the rest. Generally, being skinny with a lot of curves and defined face are the rules that most girls follow. The beauty standards imposed on men are very similar, I consider them universal, culture are usually dictated to what women want, they want a muscular man, tall and handsome, basically Dwayne Johnson, Chris Hemsworth or Idris Elba. Beauty is just an addition, a man can be the most handsome, and rich person alive but if he doesn't know what is 75 x 6 and only cares if his Mercedes was washed properly, then is being beautiful really worth it? He literally could be a monster. So, what is beauty? In my eyes everyone has their traits that makes them beautiful because people come in different sizes, colors, shapes.
ReplyDeletePs: a pretty nice looking man/ woman are appreciated (bts).
I am filipino and actually have a very diverse family. My family is large and many of my relatives are relationships with people from different races and ethnicities. The emphasis that much of the older generation puts on the younger generation is to be more natural than anything else. We like the natural look people have without make-up or any surgery. Not saying we discriminate against people who use it. There is no exact physical feature for beauty that we judge on since everyone looks so different and we have no preferences. We form our opinions on beauty based on how you carry yourself and treat others. If you have a positive attitude and are genuine toward others that is what makes people beautiful. In my family that's where many of the comments start with, which is how they presented themselves and interacted with others. For beauty people to define beauty we look at personality and one's actions, looks and appearance play a role but being beautiful means to have a good heart and the right intentions. Physical features I think are beautiful are people's smiles. I feel if someone has an amazing smile and shows it is very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBeauty standards start from the way you dress, how someone acts or speaks, looks, to how one lives. Nowadays beauty standards could almost be applied to anything and anywhere. Since everyone has the ability to share opinions of one another, everyone has judgements to make of others whether it be good or bad, hurtful or delightful. Here in New York, a mix of races and cultures all makeup ways to express each other. To me beautiful is not on how one looks but acts. But unfortunately social media has a bigger ego and a way to get across every form of technology to judge anything especially what is considered beautiful. Throughout years social media has played a big role in defining beauty. Through social media’s eyes, everything has to be perfect in order to fit in with others. One must have money, look nice, dress stylish, look perfect but in reality not everyone has the time, money, and ability to live up to the beauty standards and expectations of social media. For example if shoes that are 500$ start to trend, then those shoes would be hyped up by teens and others just because that is what is considered cool and being able to fit in with others makes them feel good about themselves. Being able to dress nice, look nice and post in on social media, is the reason social media platforms are huge. Influencers inspire others to be like that. Instead of everyone just trying to be themselves, they often get judged which just bring them down. Admiring what we want and to actually have it are two completely different things. That's why beauty standards are very high on social media. Not only could it bring someone’s self esteem down but pinpoint all things that must be fixed in order to be considered “pretty” or “beautiful”.
ReplyDeleteFor American beauty, I think you just have to have to be perfect. For girls I think it’s like being tallish, thin, free of body hair etc. There was a thing about having symmetrical faces. I’m sure most people see white people as the standard. In Asian culture, there is a desire for youthfulness, purity and thinness. Small noses and feet are also a thing Asians like. But overall I think both cultures are drawn to people that are able to conceal flaws. Also light skin for both, asians prefer women with paler skin. But beyond standards for girls, I think people find that anything that is eye catching is beautiful, something that is both separate but a part of the crowd. I personally don’t care for physical beauty. Beauty is subjective and there will never be a true definition of beauty. The nice things that peak my interest are beautiful. We all have to come up with our own versions of beauty instead of following what other people say is beautiful. Maybe beauty doesn’t even exist, everything is just what it is, there is nothing that makes one thing more special than another because everything is different. Society as a whole looks to the media and pop culture for beauty. There is a reason why certain people and things are picked to be shown to the rest of the world. They must be beautiful to be able to be chosen for that. Physically I like plainness, I like people that are neither physically spectacular or “ugly”. I’m more attracted to the “vibe” people give off. I like people’s talents, their personalities, anything that makes them a unique person on their own. I’m attracted to what people find pretty about themselves. If they like their hair, then I like their hair. But a person’s character is always the most beautiful to me. But I do wish that I had better skin. :3
ReplyDeleteFirst for me I wouldn't say there is any real type of beauty standard. If anything I think people look at more what's on the inside then what's on the outside, ironically. I think what makes a person beautiful in specific is what makes them unique, but what makes them unique can only be seen as beautiful if they embrace it. Covering it up and living in a whole will cover it all up and then you would be looked at as not beautiful but as something else, which isn't necessarily a bad thing it's just different from beautiful. What someone finds beautiful is objective of course, beauty in the eye of the beholder right. But I think there are certain things that we all look at that make us attracted to a person. Physic and personality, I think there are those that pay attention to both the outside and the inside, there are people who only look at one or the other and there are people who look at neither and they are happy being alone. Because of course there are people that would rather be alone, but i don't think that there isn't that certain person that doesn't ruffle their feathers lol. And getting to the last point of the blogger i once read this article about as we age we see ourselves differently and how we don't truly accept ourselves until we are into our late fifties which if you think about it is kind of sad but then again that is just a statistic and if you except yourself now then i'm happy for you but i think there is definitely a problem in the world that is only being made worse by things like social media that implants ideas into peoples heads that simply aren't realistic. It's what I think will change that statistic to people never accepting the way they are.
ReplyDeleteTo me there is no black an white definition of beauty because it’s one of those words that have different definitions. I see a lot of people mentioning their race or ethnic background and how it may or may not vary based on those groups they indemnify with but not many people are talking about the similarities. No matter what group you indemnify with or the time period there’s always a new beauty standard or trend that changes our perception of beauty and if we would call ourselves beautiful. For me as a Black female my personal definition of beauty has fluctuated as I got older and saw other black women. I would have to perm my hair every six months because my natural 4C, kinky curly hair was something nobody in my family knew how to deal with. Being Afrolatina definitely comes with constant expectations of beauty but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is a word that you have to define for yourself and a journey that you have to partake in until you’ve reached your destination and you’ve finally discovered what that word means to you. You can see a woman in social media who might have the “perfect body” and the “perfect face” and tell her she’s beautiful. But until she knows that she’s beautiful and that word has a definition is anybody’s mind then the word is simply a word with no meaning. Some people seek confirmation that they’re beautiful because they might have thought they were beautiful and the changing trends and beauty standards changed their perception of their own beauty. All that means is that they’d have to look for their own definition again. Beauty = mind, body and soul.
ReplyDeleteI feel like beauty is more based on a person's perspective than actual standard because people come from different cultures where some things are considered beautiful. My sense of beauty is more streamlined with the experiences I dealt with and the people I came across. I think when you get older your perceptions on beauty change as for example when you see an elderly person they would usually call you handsome. For some people a perfect face and a perfect body can be drastically different than what another person would seem to think that perfection would be like. Since everyone wants to parade what they like they'll reflect their opinions to others. Some people try their hardest to obtain that goal but at the end of day you can't change anything and you can only work with what you got. Beauty is more of what you think about yourself and others because it's only something you and other people can decide. For the only way for you to be beautiful is by you and other people commonly agreeing that you're beautiful. Beauty is something that people use to feel good about themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe standards for physical beauty in today's Chinese culture are white skin, big eyes, Ellipse face, and nice facial features. Also tall and skinny. However, because the Western world is too influential, so Chinese culture's opinion of beauty trends to the Western world. And I had noticed that people in Chinese social media like how Taylor Swift looks like and they look the Kardashians gross. What I think is looking beautiful is the pig as a mine profile picture, just check out how naive, innocent the pig is. I wish I have a high nose bridge, and bigger eyes, and more weight.
ReplyDeleteIn my culture I would say the beauty standards are usually being tall, skinny/fit light skin, and having nice facial features. I mean now slowly some people in my culture don’t really care about the looks and go more for the personality and the inside. Also it’s because we all look different and have different lifestyles. Like for my family I would say we like being as natural as possible. We feel like if we put on makeup and or act a certain way then we’re living 2 lives and or another way of saying a fake life. I mean we don’t judge or hate the ones who put on makeup or act a certain way. Everyone is different and should live however they want. For me putting on makeup is actually rare. One it’s because I’m lazy and two I try being as natural as possible. If I did put on makeup everyday I feel like I would forget who I really am. I say the media plays a big part and how we’re supposed to be and act. But I feel like we shouldn’t care about the media and just be ourselves. If anything we shouldn’t be doing anything that is going to please others. We should do it to please ourselves. Honestly when it comes to beauty I feel like the outside shouldn’t play a big role. I feel like it’s the inside and how you truly are as a person. If someone is nice and has a positive mindset then you're automatically considered beautiful to me. I honestly don’t wish I had any other features. I used to be insecure about some features that I have when I was little. But as I grew up I got used to having these features. I realized that I can’t do anything about them and I should be confident about it instead of being embarrassed. At the end of the day everyone is beautiful. Something someone else has I might not have that and vice versa. So we’re all unique and beautiful just the way we are.
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experiences, the standards of physical beauty in my culture are usually women who are fair skin, average height women, curvy but also skinny, and beautiful thick hair. But that's what a sense of beauty is in a “desi” culture. Either way, we all have different opinions on what is beautiful in physical appearances. But having an ideal of how a woman is supposed to look in order to be beautiful is just so wrong. And that's where the society comes in fault because in the society we live in we have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful or even sexy. For that reason, there's many women around the world trying to reach that type of beauty. I guess we all agree that right now the ideal beauty in social media is a woman who is curvy but also skinny, nice lips, brows, eyes. Basically someone that looks like a model or a barbie. I just think in this society we form our opinions on what is beautiful by finding something that seems appealing to us and seems eye-catching. And I would say that's where we define what is beautiful. In my opinion, I think it's beautiful and extraordinary if a woman is natural and herself. In the way god made her or her parents. I just don't like it when someone tries to change how they look because society wants them to look this way in order to be beautiful. It's beautiful if someone looks like their ethnic self. That's what makes a person unique and genuine just being yourself. Also, I don't find it wrong if someone feels insecure about something and they just want to fix it. Like do you boo! But you should love yourself first. I believe in this saying that if you are beautiful on the inside, you are also beautiful on the out. I think everyone should follow that, that saying and look up to it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know or understand the standards for physical beauty in my culture, I never really cared to know the standards for physical beauty and to me everyone has their own unique qualities but in the end all humans are ugly. I don't have a defining set of meaning for what is beautiful and what is not for me personally it's the combination of various traits that makes something beautiful because even if I define a single trait as beautiful but the rest of the other traits doesn't fit with the single trait then it would be considered a flaw which would then make the subject not as beautiful.
ReplyDeleteDue to Mexican heritage and ancestry being so diverse, which includes American Indian, Spanish, African, German and even French descent (from the many Mexicans I’ve met), skin color in Mexico could range from the lightest skin to the darkest skin tone. In Mexico, there’s such an inequality that relates to both ethnic and socioeconomic status. In Mexican beliefs, a person with dark skin lives in poverty, is referred to as “Indian,” probably works in a ranch, is vulgar, and had little education. In contrast, a person with light skin lives in wealth, is revered by their high beauty standards, is preppy and well-spoken, studied in a foreign country and probably has penthouses and mansions in the city. That is indeed the dark reality of my culture, do I feel insecure about my skin color? No, but if I go to Mexico, I’d definitely be. The standards for physical beauty in my culture is having a prominent light skin color, blue, greenish, or hazel eyes. Being tall is a must, because “no one would take a small man/woman seriously in a high-profile field.” Having straight hair, especially black or brown is also admired. These are true words from the many Mexican families I’ve talked to about this situation. I really don’t agree with height as an important factor, what matters to me is intelligence. We form our opinions about who or what is “beautiful” from what we program our brains to like. Want to like that muscular boy, go for it, want to like that boy with brown hair, hazel eyes, and pale skin tone, go for it. In order to define beauty, as cliche as it sounds, the heart will know what it wants. [I honestly know what I’m looking for, hopefully I’m enough for someone] I consider plump lips and gorgeous hair attractive. I wish I was a little lighter in skin color, but I’m happy with what I got. :D
ReplyDeleteThe standards of beauty are different all over the world which just proves how subjective beauty truly is. Sometimes I don’t know if I actually find something beautiful or if everyone tells me it is. Have we all blindly accepted the standards for beauty in our society or do they hold some truth?
ReplyDeleteThe media constantly picks at people’s insecurities and it is very harmful. Over 30 million people suffer from an eating disorder in America and a lot of that is rooted from the fact that many people don’t love themselves. A tall, skinny girl with long hair may never feel ugly because she has the media approving her physical attributes but anyone that feels underrepresented might think they are ugly and unattractive. When people compare themselves to others they point out all the little things they hate and things they want to change. When I was younger I always wanted pin straight hair. Every other girl I knew had it and I was just missing out. But the older I got the less I focused on things that made me fit in but rather I tried to find the things that gave me individuality. I think one of the most attractive physical traits is someone’s smile because what is more beautiful than seeing someone happy?
Standards for physical beauty in my culture are to be in shape. We form our opinions on who is beautiful by, what is trending on beauty. To define beauty we look at people who are popular in beauty. We also look at our friends. Physical traits I think are beautiful and I wish I had are dimples.
ReplyDeleteIn our culture the standards of physical beauty is "slim thick" society shaped people to only look on the appearance of how a females looks on the outside. If she is too fat she's not cute if she is too skinny she's not cute. We form our opinions about who or what is beautiful from Instagram and the shows that we see on T.V. Some people look to define beauty in magazines and on the internet. Some physical traits that I think that are beautiful is when a guy has a nice smile and tall
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