And yet?

Discussion: Who is beautiful?

I’ve had a few discussions on this and certain questions always come up.

1. Is EVERYONE beautiful, or are only a few people?
2. Can one go from being “ugly” to “beautiful”?
3. Who defines “beautiful”?
4. What makes them “beautiful”?
5. Are personal preferences about beauty known from birth or influenced by society?
6. What is ”beautiful”? How is it different from “pretty”, ”handsome”, “attractive”, “hot”, “sexy”?
7. Previous questions apply to all the options in question #5.

These and other questions can be answered differently by everyone, each with their own answers. Certain theories are always in the mix:

• Everyone is beautiful.
• Only a few people are beautiful, they will always be beautiful, and no one else will be.
• You can BECOME beautiful (puberty, makeover), but some people will never be beautiful.
• Anyone can be beautiful with help of diet, make-up/hygiene, etc.
• “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” so everyone has a different preference.
• We all seem to think a certain group of people are beautiful, so we all have about the same preferences.
• Beauty is skin deep, no personality characteristics can sway someone in an opinion on that.
• Personality very much sways beauty.
• There is only one definition of “beautiful”.
• There are many definitions of “beautiful”.
• One can be beautiful simply with self confidence.

These opinions all seem to be based off of five factors about beauty in a human being.

• Genes
• Health/Hygiene
• Self confidence
• Personality
• Personal preference

What are your opinions? Why do you think someone else’s opinions might be different from yours?

The next half of this post is entirely made up of my personal opinions.

I think that we need to specify some definitions. First, being “perceived as” beautiful is not the same as “being” beautiful. I believe that one can only be perceived as such, not simply IS.

My personal definitions of words in question #5 are:

“Pretty”: Skin deep, usually having to do with the face. Usually used with women. Based very much on hygiene (make-up), health, genes, and if the person is smiling/confident.

“Handsome”: Used more with men. Very much dependent on genes, health/hygiene, and confidence. Can have more to do with the body than “pretty”.

“Attractive”: An all around personality/physical appearance term. Genes, health/hygiene, self confidence, personality, personal preference, the works. Usually has to do with whether that person is long term relationship material.

“Hot”: Almost entirely skin deep. Genes, self confidence, personal preference, some personality. Can change with more interaction with the person. Not usually for an actual relationship,

“Sexy”: Almost entirely skin deep. Genes, health/hygiene, personal preference. Usually has to do with the body, but face is a factor. Personality can be a factor. Rarely for a long term relationship.

And finally, “Beautiful”: Very, very much having to do with the personality. Personality, health, self confidence. Face is also a slight factor. Can be defined only after much interaction.

With those words defined, we can continue with my answers to the first questions and my personal philosophies about beauty.

1. Everyone can be perceived as beautiful in some way or another, sometimes you just need to look for it harder. Others might see things you don’t, so people can be perceived as beautiful by some and not beautiful by others.
2. You can become a more beautiful person to yourself, but it doesn’t mean someone will perceive you any differently. You can go from being perceived by society as ugly to being perceived as pretty with help from health/hygiene changes. You can go from being perceived as
3. Each person defines beauty for themselves. Also, society as a whole has molded their own opinion with the media.
4. A positive combination of the five factors of perceived beauty makes someone beautiful.
5. The fact that different cultures define who is hot, sexy, attractive, and handsome differently is proof that beauty is most definitely influenced by society. The fact that each individual person defines who is hot, sexy, attractive, and handsome (sometimes against their own conscious wishes)differently proves that beauty is also a personal preference from birth.
6. Answered previously for reasons of comprehension.

What do you think about my opinions? What are yours?

Screaming very, very high and very, very loudly is very, very fun and very, very effective.

AGH

I’m sick of overanalyzing stupid shit.
I’m sick of being unsure.
I’m sick of taking the fucking initiative.
I’m sick of being wrong.
I’m sick of assuming.
I’m sick of being confused.
I’m sick of feeling triumphant then losing it two seconds later.
I’m sick of waiting.
I’m sick of tip-toeing with everything I say or do.
I’m sick of passing and failing the microtests.
I’m sick of tiny things making or breaking my mood.
I’m sick of making it seem like I’m not freaking out over it at all.
I’m sick of not having the ladyballs to do something real about it.

I HATE WAITING!!

Pretty much my literal reaction to when I found out Neil Patrick Harris is in the Assassins OBC:

ihopebarackobama:

I hope Barack Obama alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. He is the slayer.

(via lipsofspike)