Beauty can be defined in many ways. Generally people equate experiencing beauty with the sensation of visual pleasure, but can be so much more then. This essay will explore the definition of beauty through three different lenses; time and how it has changed, culture, and a broader definition of beauty. As time changes from generation to generation so does the meaning of this word. For example, in the Ancient Greek times they saw a similarity between mathematics and beauty. They believed that something had more beauty to it when it was symmetrical and proportional, so they designed their buildings this way. And as time continued Plato had a philosophy that humans are born understanding beauty. So when we are born we forget what it is until …show more content…
In the United States the way people see beauty is completely different from how other countries see it. For example, in China when people see each other they see the standards of what they are suppose to be like. In China most women are in the trend of wanting a v-line face, wanting very light skin, and big eyes. For the people in India they have different expectations on how they should look. The women want long hair and want cream like skin. And as for the United States we want it all. We want to be skinny, have a really good tan, long beautiful hair, and if most people aren’t satisfied with how they look that’s when people want plastic surgery. There are many different perspectives on how people view beauty; in the examples above each country has a different perspective. Some of these countries may think that other countries beauty standards are very different, but these are all based on different opinions and perspectives people …show more content…
Beauty can be perceived as an emotion. When a person has a deep connection with someone they can feel so beautiful about that emotion and feeling. And with some people when that connection continues to grow so does that feeling. Beauty can also be perceived as kindness. For example, when someone really needs help physically or mentally and someone is there to help him or her that is beauty. When a person just sits down to listen to someone and how they feel that can be the most beautiful thing because not all of us have that, and sometimes a person needs that. Beauty is also love. When someone falls for someone most of the time they like outer beauty, but as that continues they start to fall for that person’s inner self. That person can be the most beautiful person on the out side but on the inside is when you get to really see the true beauty of someone. So when thinking of the word beauty sometimes people think of only outer beauty, but it really is so much more then that. Beauty can be so many different things just depending on how someone sees it. The word can change meaning through time though and maybe will continue to change as generations change. The word was perceived back in the Greek times, and then evolved into modern times has changed very dramatically. Continuing on into modern age the word has had several different meanings when it came to
Defining Beauty for Men and Women in Portraiture ". A thing of beauty is a joy forever : It's loveliness increases ; it will never pass into nothingness. " What is a beauty? Seemingly a continually evolving and infinitely elusive ideal, mankind has been obsessed with the concept of beauty throughout the ages.
In Crispin Sartwell’s Six Names of Beauty, he discusses the numerous ideas and meanings behind the word beauty, highlighting how it can be taken in an infinite amount of ways, though the way that Sartwell explained “Yapha”, meaning “to glow or bloom” in Hebrew was the explanation of beauty that was most relevant to me as it speaks of the small moments in life that allow us to experience the overall beauty of the world. Sartwell explains that “…a thing, as it were, sheds or exudes its beauty. Beauty is something the beautiful object emits, like a light: a thing is beautiful in virtue of what it gives” (28). As an artist, specific paintings, like “Starry Night” by Van Gogh, for example, is a piece that has it’s own beauty, that emits beauty from within. As it was said, something is found beautiful because it simply is: it is beautiful, in the way that Van Gogh worked his way along the canvas in rushed, frenzied strokes, yet when the rapid strokes blend together, they ultimately produce a piece that is able to emit its own beauty and its own virtue; it must rely upon nothing else but itself.
Just what is beauty? We all have our own definition of beauty because everyone has there own distinctive style and attractiveness. Therefore, we must respect why some people find beauty in things while others would not simply because beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder. Now we all are attracted to all sorts of things, but have you ever asked yourself why? Is it simply because it is beautiful or does the meaning go beyond that? I tend to believe the latter is true so lets take love for example. It is the most beautiful thing in the world because you get a sense of being, are likely attracted to the person you are in love with, it stimulates you and you probably feel complete. However, beauty does not always have to be attractive or unique it is what taps into your emotions and causes you to want more and more.
As stated by ‘The Duchess’, Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s famous quote “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” As a result, beauty can describe as an inspiring view present in everything that can be seen. To begin, beauty can be viewed in a building as large and extravagant as the white house to the small hometown market or even in the sight of a single flower to a field filled with a million flowers. Also, beauty can be seen in the sunrise over the peaks of the mountains and also in the sunset glowing across a calm lake surrounded by the bright colors of the fall trees. Furthermore, people have physical beauty, which can be found in a person’s features, figure, or complexion. In the poem “Beauty & Dress” by Robert Herrick he explains the beauty he sees in his wife. Herrick states,
The word beauty means a combination of qualities that delight the aesthetic senses (“Beauty.” Concise). It can also mean one of the two other meanings: denoting something intended to make someone more attractive or a beautiful woman (“Beauty.” Concise). Beauty dates back into history, and even now, means almost the same thing.
According to the definition, “beautiful” does not only have to refer to qualities that can be perceived at face value, it can also refer to the mind. Unfortunately, society tends to judge what is on the outside, which affects
To some people ‘beauty’ may be when someone has blonde hair and blue eyes, and for others it may be when someone has perfect skin. There are so many different definitions for the word ‘beauty’ because
Society’s definition of beauty has truly hurt so many women due to the fact they do not fit into the definition. I wish society would not have put such a specific description on such a vague word that makes it mean so much to someone. Who knew the description of a word could mean just as much to someone as their
Glowing caramel tan on flawless skin, voluptuous breasts and butt on a stick-thin model, long lashes, silky hair with volume, 5’7 or taller, white perfectly aligned teeth under big lips, a hairless body, and on top of all that the latest fashion produced by designer brands that leave little to the imagination. That’s the American beauty perception for women in a nutshell. Men? Biceps, broad shoulders, large chest, six-pack abs, whatever screams manly and won’t scare off the ladies. However there young girls who go crazy over pretty, metrosexual boys nowadays. At least these beauty standards are possible to belong to different races. As expected of the melting pot America is.
Beauty isn’t always physically viewed because there is also an idea of beauty which is the reflection of a person’s soul. A person’s physical beauty just features that a person has that don't last forever. Although, physical beauty fades throughout the time the idea of beauty shall not ever fade because it is simply a person’s inspiration. The idea of beauty is an immortal thought that is shown through a person's passion.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, is a very famous quote by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. Martin, Gary. ("Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder." Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder. The Phrase Finder, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014) This quote means that many different people see beauty in their own way. Beauty can be found in many different forms such as personal appearance, nature, personality, art and architecture. Modern societal values and those of the ancient Greeks hold both similar and different ideals of beauty. Today we value beauty most often as hair, body shape, money, and face. Ancient Greeks valued beauty as a sum of parts formed into a coherent whole with symmetry, harmony,and proportion as the key elements. (Sartwell,Beach) We can see the ancient Greeks ideal of beauty given physical form through their statues, architecture, and paintings. Women are the major focus in terms of the physical display of the ideal beauty. In today’s modern world women just go out and get plastic surgery to correct perceived physical faults, dye their hair to the desired color, or artificially tan to get a darker skin color. However, back in ancient Greece women would stay inside to become paler to retain a lighter skin tone. They used sheep grease for foundation, and like today they would pluck out unwanted hairs to get their natural hair line. (Valentine, LaNae. "Beauty through the Ages | Recapturing Beauty) Each era has their own and different ways to define beauty. There are many different philosophies of beauty in each era because people try to interpret the real meaning of beauty. Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates are three very important figures from ancient Greece whose philosophies on beauty capture the views of that era on beauty. P...
What is beauty? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary explicates beauty as the quality of being physically attractive and the qualities in a person or thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind. Beauty as stated above can be a quality in a person that you find appealing. The Bible states, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the thing man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV) This goes to show that beauty isn’t just outside, but also inside. Poetry can make you beautiful. Poetry gives you a deeper meaning to the things that you believe are too small to be significant. For example in Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee,” Poe says “…the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.” In this example the wind could be more than just wind; it could be a disease, such as t...
Suppose that you were standing by a beach at sunset and you become deeply moved and utter the words, "This is beautiful, this is glorious." You are ultimately pleased by a feeling that we as a culture refer to this response as, beauty. A feeling that possesses an enormous power to touch us deeply while holding a tremendous potential to grip and transform us. For beauty stirs and satisfies our deepest longings as well as attracting us, provoking our adoration, and inviting us to adorn ourselves with its luster. Indeed, our society naturally celebrates beauty automatically through experiences that arouse affections for that which we find attractive.
What is beauty? Beauty is defined as “the quality of being physically attractive or the qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind” (Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2014, para. 1). Heine (2012) has found that beauty and attractiveness can vary across cultures. Although, there are specific features of a person that seem to be considered as beautiful and attractive across all culture spectrums. These features are: complexion, bilateral symmetry, average sized facial features, and biracial faces. However, weight in regards to attractiveness and beauty varies drastically across cultures. Through this discovery, there may be a correlation between the perception of beauty and attractiveness in each culture and its effects of body dissatisfaction and eating disorder rates. Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? We will examine how what is considered to be attractive and beautiful can have both similarities and differences across cultures. In addition, we will examine eating disorders, and how they are influenced by the beauty standards that are set in specific cultures.
But I have come to the conclusion that it is more of a personal understanding rather than straight examples. Another common phrase associated with beauty is, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". This statement holds so much truth because not everyone sees the same beauty. The definition of beauty by dictionary.com is, "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest)". (dictionary.com) Beauty appeals to an individual's senses, therefore, creating a personal preference. Due to the fact of this term being so vast, the state of beauty changes. Associated words include charm, allure, grace, style, and many others. Clearly, the definition and synonyms together mean that beauty is not strictly appearance, but how one