Since ancient times the notion of beauty has been bothering not only scientists and philosophers, but also ordinary people who cannot understand why they are attracted to certain people and objects. As a result, a lot of beauty theories appeared. For instance, according to Pythagoras the most attractive were only those facial features which seemed to be very close to golden ratio, i.e. very symmetrical and mathematically proportional. Later on, the theory of averageness was suggested by Francis Galton which presupposed that mixing up facial features of many people in one face looks much more attractive that any individual in the world. I personally define ‘beauty’ as an abstract concept that is represented by a complex of specific traits and features of a concrete object that brings aesthetical pleasure to its observer.
Times change and beauty standards of people and objects from different spheres of our life do change too. In order to prove beauty modification within a certain period of time one needs to take 2 photos of women who lived in different centuries and were considered to be beautiful during their lives. Obviously, this person is most likely to be deluded by those great differences between two images of women’s beauty – he/she might think Adobe Photoshop has been used to make some fun of them. In fact, each period of time is significant by its own rules and cannons. Consequently, I am absolutely sure that a deep understanding of beauty is imposed by society of one’s specific lifetime. Undoubtedly, asserting this I mean beauty ideals which are, however, interpreted and perceived by each person in a different way. Anyway, most of these interpretations turn to be as close as possible to ideal beauty features of specific time.
It is worth mentioning the fact that beauty itself includes not only human’s attractiveness, but also everything that can lead to aesthetic satisfaction of the definite individual. As far as I am concerned, this is supposed to be very individual about every human being. Though I cannot but assert that media is the main manipulator of concrete beauty standards about anything on this earth. However, a lot of people try to show that their views on attractiveness are not influenced by anyone else (actually, they simply do not realize how badly they are influenced) and try to show off their specific tastes and visions on beauty. In reality, it leads to conflict between society and the person, thus, perverting the notion of beauty, which, I think, should not be discussed with anyone at all. I completely agree with the statement ‘Many men – many minds’. In situation when defining what beauty is, no one can be absolutely right, as affirming one’s point of view leads to humiliating other person’s point of view. Consequently, nothing can be proved when talking about beauty.
Frankly speaking, I also consider inner beauty to be a part of beauty concept. Similarly, it is something that makes me smile and be happy apart from any aesthetical satisfaction. In other words, one is getting pleasure communicating with a certain person or raises his/her self-esteem realizing his/her own inner beauty.
In conclusion, each person has his/her own perception of beauty and it does not matter whether it coincides with general society’s views on it or not. What really matters is to what extent you enjoy aesthetic and moral satisfaction from your own perception of beauty.
