Is Beauty Important?
May 6th 2008 03:26
I used to think that inner beauty was more important than outer beauty. Now I’m not so sure.
We live in a world that places a high value on beauty. But for women particularly, it can be a conflicting message. On the one hand we are told that inner beauty is important. On the other, we can see for ourselves that outer beauty seems more important. Magazines publish articles on how confidence and high self-esteem can make you more attractive than the way you look. Then they follow it up with advertisements of beautiful people selling products to make us beautiful or features on beautiful celebrities.
But we don’t need to open a magazine to realise that beauty counts. We see it in our daily lives – particularly if you’re someone who’s not beautiful. I saw a report once about an attractive woman who put on a fat-suit for a day. She was treated completely different by the people she came into contact with. Any overweight or less than attractive person watching that report would not have been surprised. Beautiful people get treated better. Beautiful people get smiled at more, get talked to more, get assisted more, get loved more.
And it’s even the people in the church that seem to place this high value on beauty. It shouldn’t be so, but it is. I had conversations with two Christian men recently, where I discovered that the way a person looked was very important to them. One Christian man said that a bridegroom had done well for himself because his new wife was pretty – as if that were the only thing that mattered. I’ve attended bible groups where the pretty girls in the room got all the attention. Even when I asked a question, the answer was directed to someone more attractive.
Sure, my pastor told me that God thinks I am beautiful. But I hadn’t mentioned anything to do with my looks when he made this comment, leaving me to wonder why he brought it up. Did he think I would – or should – be concerned about such a thing? Or by saying that God thought I was beautiful, was he suggesting that God was the only one who could do so?
It has been suggested to me that if I start thinking of myself as beautiful, others will see me the same way. I disagree. I used to think that I was beautiful. Granted, it was more a beauty that came from within, rather than a beauty based solely on looks alone. But still, I thought I was beautiful. But no matter how beautiful I thought myself, the rest of the world disagreed with me. It’s hard to continue believing in your beauty when nobody else sees it.
It shouldn’t bother me. I’ve always thought intelligence was more important than beauty anyway – and I’ve never had anyone suggest that I was stupid. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I think it’s because – like most women – I want to be beautiful. It’s not that I want to wave a magic wand and suddenly wake up looking like Angelina Jolie. I just wish that other people could see my beauty. But they don’t. And it hurts. Especially when I seem to get treated differently because of that.
So I get it. I’m not beautiful. And beauty counts. Or does it? What do you think? Is beauty important? And if it is, what type of beauty? Is outward appearance the only thing that matters? Does inner beauty count for anything at all?
We live in a world that places a high value on beauty. But for women particularly, it can be a conflicting message. On the one hand we are told that inner beauty is important. On the other, we can see for ourselves that outer beauty seems more important. Magazines publish articles on how confidence and high self-esteem can make you more attractive than the way you look. Then they follow it up with advertisements of beautiful people selling products to make us beautiful or features on beautiful celebrities.
But we don’t need to open a magazine to realise that beauty counts. We see it in our daily lives – particularly if you’re someone who’s not beautiful. I saw a report once about an attractive woman who put on a fat-suit for a day. She was treated completely different by the people she came into contact with. Any overweight or less than attractive person watching that report would not have been surprised. Beautiful people get treated better. Beautiful people get smiled at more, get talked to more, get assisted more, get loved more.
And it’s even the people in the church that seem to place this high value on beauty. It shouldn’t be so, but it is. I had conversations with two Christian men recently, where I discovered that the way a person looked was very important to them. One Christian man said that a bridegroom had done well for himself because his new wife was pretty – as if that were the only thing that mattered. I’ve attended bible groups where the pretty girls in the room got all the attention. Even when I asked a question, the answer was directed to someone more attractive.
Sure, my pastor told me that God thinks I am beautiful. But I hadn’t mentioned anything to do with my looks when he made this comment, leaving me to wonder why he brought it up. Did he think I would – or should – be concerned about such a thing? Or by saying that God thought I was beautiful, was he suggesting that God was the only one who could do so?
It has been suggested to me that if I start thinking of myself as beautiful, others will see me the same way. I disagree. I used to think that I was beautiful. Granted, it was more a beauty that came from within, rather than a beauty based solely on looks alone. But still, I thought I was beautiful. But no matter how beautiful I thought myself, the rest of the world disagreed with me. It’s hard to continue believing in your beauty when nobody else sees it.
It shouldn’t bother me. I’ve always thought intelligence was more important than beauty anyway – and I’ve never had anyone suggest that I was stupid. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I think it’s because – like most women – I want to be beautiful. It’s not that I want to wave a magic wand and suddenly wake up looking like Angelina Jolie. I just wish that other people could see my beauty. But they don’t. And it hurts. Especially when I seem to get treated differently because of that.
So I get it. I’m not beautiful. And beauty counts. Or does it? What do you think? Is beauty important? And if it is, what type of beauty? Is outward appearance the only thing that matters? Does inner beauty count for anything at all?
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Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
I read once that attractive people get more lenient sentences after criminal conviction...provided they get convicted in the first place.
Well, I have no idea what you look like physically Samaritan, but you sure seem beautiful to me.
Comment by samaritan
Fringe Faith
Thanks Ruby. One of the best compliments I ever received was when a blind person called me beautiful. Although it sounds like kind of a joke doesn't it? I once was called beautiful - by a blind person. But still it was nice.
Comment by Louie
Climate Forum
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
All i am trying to say is you are worried about first impressions, any person worth knowing will take more than a moment to get to know. Yes first judgements may be harsh but they are very rarely everlasting.
As long as you project beautiful energy you will be beautiful in my books.
Comment by samaritan
Fringe Faith