To be or not to be... beautiful.
Welcome to all!
To start off I'd like to ask you a question; in your eyes what is beauty?
Nature? Women? Purity? The supernatural? Love? Intellect? Many different answers are expected from this question for the simple reason that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.
Throughout my blog, I will be tossing around the words "beautiful" and "beauty" vaguely, while giving my perspective of those words.
The definition of the word "beauty" according to Webster's Online Dictionary is as follows:
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| Gwyneth Paltrow named 'most beautiful' in People's Magazine 2013 |
Society has it's own definition which unfortunately reaches every part in the world. There is no way to escape society's pressure of being beautiful. Everything concerning media has an impact on the way we should look, act, dress, react and so on. This has some negative effects on many teenagers today. But, what most people fail to understand is that WE ARE society and if we don't agree with something we have the right and the power to change it.
*Kudos to you if you are not fazed by what the society pursues as beautiful*
Beauty according to religions is often seen as purity from within. Meaning, to be free from sin and to follow the words of god(s). Although, most religions contradict themselves (in my opinion) because of the importance of a how one should physically appear and shouldn't.
I will also be sharing the descriptions of beauty in many countries across the globe. The best way to learn is to travel (wise words of EJL French teacher M. Hebert). This can change your perspective on everything. Learning new ways of life and seeing the beauty in opposite parts of the world. Making you a better, more open minded and beautiful person from within. But hey! Who am I to say what makes or breaks you as a person?Overall, the point of my blog is not to make you believe what is beautiful (according to me), but to open your eyes and minds to the several outlooks on beauty around the world!
References:
http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/Beauty
http://meetville.com/quotes/tag/beauty/page97
http://kimberlyhites.blogspot.com/2013/06/french-beauty-secretsgwyneth-paltrow.html
Carly, I really love the idea of your blog! The idea of being able to choose what is beauty is so liberating. I'm very excited on hearing more of your opinions on what beauty truly is and how it is influence, particularly by religion (super intriguing). The idea that beauty can be found anywhere like nature, intellect, FOOD, is so heartwarming, knowing that theres more to just the surface of our exterior beings. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas, I look forward to hearing many more of them!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting topic! I agree with you that it does take an open minded person to see the beauty, not just the beauty others see, but what they find to be beautiful as well. I do find this concept to be rather close or perhaps related to, "One person's trash is another's treasure," maybe not as harsh but fairly similar, because both suggest that everyone has a different perspective on different situations or things.
ReplyDeleteIt is invariably disheartening to reflect on the ubiquitous pressure of being beautiful, especially when we, society, have turned it into such a seemingly unattainable thing. It is plain to see that human beings have always had this innate urge to conform, seeing as we are social animals, and this has been of utter detriment to our society because people often try to become someone that they are not by unhealthy, unrealistic means. I look forward to your shedding light on foreign perceptions of beauty and I hope the humanitarian side prevails over the capitalist side of the spectrum.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I must commend you on your choice of Gwyneth Paltrow as a visual means of representation of your blog topic, since I find her quite mesmeric, while my cousins think she is unsightly. Beauty is highly subjective and will vary tremendously between each individual. I also believe that true beauty cannot be anchored by any single factor, meaning that it takes more than just perceptible allure or wits to be discernible as "beautiful" in a general sense. Despite this, the value of distinct traits should not be omitted. You mentioned the wise words of M. Hébert, and I cannot help but bring up his philosophy of the "Ken/Barbie syndrome", which is society's need to conform to the standards as decreed by the media. These pressures are not just without, but also within, so what approach must be attempted to abolish a personal problem? A very interesting blog, and you can be sure I'll stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteCarly, I can tell your passionate about your blog topic. It's not just an assignment but I feel that you're also profiting from learning about all this because it interests you so much! I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say, because I didn't know the answer to the question before your introduction. You've picked a topic that concerns everyone because after all, we do live in this cruel world together and we all participate in this unfortunate type of social behaviour.
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog Carly, I believe that I will have a lot in common with the topic you are talking about lol... But on a real note, there have been quite a few controversies in magazines and Photoshop regarding their female models. More recently the failed attempt photoshopping a picture of a model for the retail store Target on their website. It's interesting to see the lengths people go to achieve artificial "beauty". Exited to see more of your blogs!
ReplyDeleteCarly, I find your blog topic very interesting. I one hundred percent agree with you that the perspective of beauty in the media does influence the teenagers in today's society. I find it unfortunate that as teenagers, we get so caught up in how the media portrays beauty instead of focusing on what we believe beauty really is. I look forward to reading your future posts!
ReplyDeleteI am really inspired already by even the topic of your blog! I find you have chosen a really good topic to talk about. Escecially the fact that society today is that! Everyone is basing all their thought and looks according to everyone else in the world! Its crazy. So I am really happy to see someone choose this specific topic and cannot wait to read more about what you have to say!
ReplyDeleteCarly you are so right when you said beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I believe that everyone has their one beauty in a unique way. What one person might find unappealing someone else may find beautiful. Although others opinions should not matter or change yours! What you like is what makes us different and that's the beauty of life.
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