Beauty is not an ideal

It isn't. And it's a shame that so many people think it is, because they will never possess it. They'll feel deflated and find ways to compensate for their self-induced lack. Yes, I'm being vague intentionally, but not to worry. I'm no Scientologist; there are no hollow, unelucidated ramblings here.

What makes a person beautiful? To whom? Who decides? These questions can't be answered by citing superficial distinctions (assuming they CAN be answered that is), such as saying brunettes are hotter than blondes. Instead one must look to the estranged step-uncle that is philosophy.

Many may not realize it, but beauty is often thought of as a form, a blueprint of perfection. It is an idea or ideal that one should strive to achieve or use to guide one's goals. A Platonic Form is the essence of an object that exists in a transcendental realm. Every object in the realm we experience, which we like to call reality, is a shadow of some Platonic Form. For example, if I drew a triangle it would be an emulation of its form--the essential/perfect triangle. Even if I used a ruler and a protractor, I could not draw a perfect triangle. If one zoomed in to the microscopic level they would see that there were still imperfections in the triangle that I had drawn. The important thing to recognize here is that the world we experience is imperfect, which includes ourselves and our actions. We can never achieve the perfection of a form.

However, that truth doesn't deter people from trying to achieve perfect beauty, and it is why people diet; why they wear makeup; why they go to the gym; why they drink protein shakes; why they tan; why they get plastic surgery; why they develop eating disorders. Goals are set constantly, but there is never an endpoint. Because humans are imperfect, achieving perfection is impossible, yet people still deny the reality of their existence and give it a burl anyway. Pursuing that goal creates a dissonance between what one is and what one would like to be. The dissonance created by trying to achieve perfect beauty can be very debilitating, physically and mentally. It's a futile pursuit, but there are so many runners in the race.

But where's the finish line? Sure everyone wants to be beautiful, but what does it mean to be beautiful? I bet few people could give a specific definition that encompasses both sexes. The ideal of beauty is often vague and undefined. Sure there are fashion magazines and billboards and clothing stores and movies and TV shows that tell us and show us what perfect beauty is, but little is defined and consistency is sparse. There tend to be common threads--bigger boobs, less fat, more muscle, etc.--though such ideals are not quantified. There are no limits to how big one's boobs should be; how skinny one should be; or how jacked one should be--and there are several websites that show just how far people are willing to go to obtain their idea, or the one they've assimilated, of perfect beauty. But there are several well-renowned people who are considered beautiful, yet the qualities that make them beautiful are never exactly alike. You can make up your own examples. It seems that not only does perfect beauty not exist in human experience, but the ideal or form of perfect beauty does not exist either. In fact, and I believe this is fairly obvious, what is beautiful is entirely contingent upon the person making such a judgment.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" seems to be a fairly common colloquialism, and I assume most people are familiar with it, but why does no one take heed of it? We're shovel-fed superficiality every day of our lives and we don't even need a glass of water to swallow it. Does it occur to anyone that beauty can go beyond surface features? Perhaps what makes one beautiful is one's actions or beliefs or values. Beauty ought not be limited to solely physical traits.

Whatever idea of beauty you behold, make sure you use your own eyes.