Definition Of Ugliness Essay Sample

Ugliness is an adjective just like many others. However, it stands apart from some as it is nonspecific and, arguably, entirely down to individual opinion. Unlike a more fixed adjective, such as green, for example, ugly can be applied to almost anything. Likewise, however, it can also be ruled out when describing something. Opinion on what can be described as ugly varies vastly from person to person.
Ugly can be defined as something which is offensive or repulsive. These are both strong words which evoke powerful images and responses. An adjective such as ugly can be applied to almost anything imaginable. It can be applied to any noun; for example, a table could be deemed ugly. Additionally, nouns that are more abstract can also be ugly; for example, a person’s thoughts can be referred to as ugly.
Of course, what is considered repulsive or offensive will vary from person to person. For example, Tom Brady, the football player, could be considered attractive to many people. His face has good symmetry, he is fit and strong, and he is pleasing to look at. In these ways, Brady might be thought of as beautiful. However, I find him ugly and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, he is well-known as being an adulterer. As I have personal experience of adultery, having been cheated on by my husband of the time, I find this trait highly unattractive. This concept could, arguably, be applied in assessing the attractiveness or ugliness of any person on earth. There will always be some people who consider a person to be beautiful, and some who consider them to be ugly. Furthermore, there will be a whole host of complex reasons for each person’s decision either way.
Another example of such subjectivity concerns my recent experience of joining a fitness challenge. As part of the challenge, each participant was asked to take ‘before’ photographs of themselves in sports bras and shorts, and from front, side, and back views. The challenge also had an online support group via Facebook. Through this group, participants could share experiences, ideas, concerns and, hopefully, find motivation for the challenge. Many women started to post their ‘before’ pictures onto the group page. Many of them also commented about how ugly they considered themselves to be in the photographs. They appeared to be genuine in their convictions; they believed their bodies looked ugly. Although some of them were carrying a little extra weight than is medically idea, I didn’t consider any of them to be ugly. They all looked different from one another and that, in itself, is a beautiful thing, in my opinion.
Just as the definition of ugly itself, the concept of ugliness being a matter of personal opinion can be applied to anything. For example, if one person were to deem a house as ugly, it is equally likely that another person would think it beautiful. In the same way, one person might think that a certain idea is ugly, and another person could see the same idea as beautiful. This contradiction is always alive, even concerning matters that, some believe, should be clear cut. For example, many people may believe that a terrorist attack on a shopping centre is an ugly, horrific plan to hone. On the other hand, those who are planning it may believe they are planning the attack as part of their duty to their god and, in this way, the plan may be beautiful to them.
It seems that some people use the term ugly where other people may use the term unusual. It can happen that, when surprised by something, a person can automatically believe it to be ugly. However, it could be that it is just unusual and, when the person becomes used to the appearance of whatever it is, its beauty will shine through for them. A manatee could be used as an example to support this theory. On first glance, it could be argued, the manatee is a bulbous, monstrous creature. However, people who have studied manatees for a long time often describe them as graceful and even beautiful.
Ugliness is a well-known and well-used word in society, and it can be applied to almost anything. However, the ugliness is like beauty in that what is deemed ugly is down to a matter of opinion. Just as some people consider a horse to be beautiful and others consider it ugly, perhaps the very definition of the word ugly is also fluid. Although many people use the word casually, it is possible that, if questioned about its meaning, a range of different answers would be returned. People, objects and even ideas can be termed as ugly, but perhaps some people do not mean the word to be as strong as some other people do. In this way, although there are dictionary definitions of ugliness, perhaps such references are too limiting for such as popularly-used word.