Extensive and in-depth report on the topic ‘What is beauty’? Just about everything is covered in this search for the answer to one of life’s questions.
1 Introduction
The first question that arises in this project is: What is beauty? Beauty is described in the Van Dale dictionary as the quality of being beautiful or the quality that contributes to => clean. But answering this question requires a lot more than a dictionary.
Beauty is multifaceted and can be viewed from different angles. The two largest groups into which we can divide our subject are inner and outer beauty. By inner beauty we mean the human soul, the inner strength. We can take the other aspect, the outer beauty, very broadly. We think of the appearance of humans, but certainly also of art, the world itself, nature, the inexplicable.
There is no clear definition of beauty. We use the word carelessly, but if one as an individual tries to analyze the meaning, it turns out to be not that simple. We find something beautiful if we experience it as beautiful. We don’t like things to be messy, we want to organize things to understand them. Beauty is also a psychological fact. We only experience beauty at the most fundamental level when we understand the order of things.
2. External beauty.
The appearance of a person is important. At the first meeting, a person is usually approached about his or her physical appearance. The appearance of man is therefore a certain survival of the fittest. People with an appearance that conforms to standards will be more likely to be socially accepted.
Remains of prehistoric times
You can’t judge a person’s character by their appearance, but this seems to be a trait that humans have possessed for thousands of years and is a remnant of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
Civilization is only something of the last centuries. Before that, our ancestors were itinerant hunters and gatherers of fruits, nuts and vegetables. And appearance helped primeval man judge which fruits and vegetables were ripe, which parts were good to eat, which parts were bad or rotten. This judgmental quality was important for survival.
History of beauty.
Ideas about beauty are changing: what was ‘in’ ten years ago is no longer possible – but might be in five years’ time. We mainly think of the past, when women had leg hair and armpit hair, but now it is dirty. We owe our ideas about what is beautiful to the distant past, when everything revolved around reproduction. We had to find a partner suitable for reproduction. Women with clear skin, thick shiny hair, curvaceous waists and symmetrical bodies were favorites. Especially when they were young. Men are still fascinated by women with these characteristics. Women with these characteristics radiated fertility, this is also what a man looked for in a woman.
Throughout history, different cultures have selected different aspects of the body. In China it used to be customary to make women’s feet smaller. The small foot served as an erotic zone, but also as a sign of high status. In Western countries, however, there is the stiletto heel, which is less extreme, but the principle is the same.
The history of cosmetics also goes back as far as the history of humanity, because beauty needs to be protected, cared for and possibly updated. Toiletries and ointments have been found in the tombs of Egyptian kings from around 3500 BC. Kohl was already being used in 1500 BC and the ointments discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb still smelled of nature 3300 years after his death. Much later, at Nero’s court, men and women brazenly resorted to eye shadow, perfume and other cosmetics to obscure the effects of the ravages of time. The Romans at that time even knew a kind of depilatory agent, namely psilotrum.
In daily life
Beautiful people are to their advantage in everyday life. They have more friends, are more likely to get a job and are a desirable partner on the marriage market. Women in particular carry the burden of knowing this. If a woman does not meet the beauty ideals, she is clearly disadvantaged compared to her better-off peers. People tend to associate good looks with good qualities. It has been shown that people are more likely to find beautiful people nice, intelligent, healthy and well-adjusted. Fortunately, the benefits of an attractive appearance are shared equally between men and women. Beauty is distributed quite randomly by nature. Moreover, the link to happiness, success and virtue is equally strong for both sexes. However, this equality does not apply to attraction to the opposite sex, an important aspect of life. Marja Vervoort says that for men the appearance of others matters more than for women. The ideal friend must be beautiful, the ideal friend not necessarily.
Nightlife
Psychologist Feingold conducted a study at Yale University. He investigated whether, for example, beautiful women are more popular, go out more often and have more friends than beautiful men. Research into this has usually been conducted among students and young adults, the age at which the most intensive search for a partner is made and most partner choices are made. It then turns out that beauty and popularity are related for both sexes, but that this applies more to women than to men. This also applies to romantic dates. There is also a clear difference. Handsome men want beautiful women, but this is not the case with women. Just look at primary school. All good-looking boys have more friends than less good-looking ones, but this doesn’t matter much with girls.
The language of the sexes
We are used to responding to the latest beauty ideals, with all the subtle details in make-up, hairstyles and clothes. When we look for a partner, we take into account a countless number of small visual details.
So we make finding a partner very difficult. But why don’t we consider a person of the opposite sex who has the basic signals, the basic physical attributes and reasonable intelligence as a partner? The answer lies in the so-called beauty trap, the Beauty Trap. We have a whole set of refined standards for what we consider an appropriate partner for ourselves in our modern social context. We may not be aware of how we did it, but it’s simply a matter of who is in demand, or on our wavelength. We are part of a social network whose social customs have been fixed since birth. But every society has its own beauty ideals. If 200 different cultures were surveyed to find out what attracted people, there would be hardly any qualities that were common across the board. For example, one culture prefers large female breasts, the other prefers small ones, one culture prefers skinny bodies, the other prefers fat ones. Today, a woman with a beautiful face is more likely to be found attractive by a potential partner than someone with an ordinary face, regardless of her qualities. Even if she is barren, moody and vain, an exceptionally beautiful woman can stand up to an ugly but otherwise very fit and fertile woman. The same applies to the male sex. But this is not limited to choosing a partner, nor to choosing employees.
The American psychologist Nancy Etcoff shows that external beauty does matter. She wrote the book ‘The right of the most beautiful’. With every meeting we analyze a person to see if she or he is attractive. Beauty brings out the good in others. In a psychological study, 75 male students were shown photos of women. Some were very attractive, others less so. They were instructed to pick out someone for whom they would like to do one of the following things: move furniture, lend money, donate blood, donate a kidney, swim a mile to save her, get her out of a burning building, or do it themselves. throw themselves at a hand grenade thrown by a terrorist. Men would do anything for a beautiful woman. The only thing they reluctantly did was lend her money.
What women want
It is interesting that women, although they do have an eye for beautiful men, do not just look at whether the genes are right. A woman also wants to know whether a man is prepared to care for her and any baby she may have. Whether he is reliable plays a role, but his social position is also important.
In one study, people were shown photos of men and women who ranged in appearance from very handsome to below average. The researchers said that they were training for a profession that was poorly, averagely or well paid (waiter, teacher or doctor). The researchers asked who they would like to have a cup of coffee with, sleep with or marry. Naturally, women preferred the handsomest man with the most money. But doctors with average or even unattractive appearance received the same ratings as very attractive teachers. Status compensated for their appearance. It was not the other way around. Unattractive women were not wanted, regardless of their social position.
What men want
Men like women’s faces with typical features of youth: large eyes, a small lower face with fine jaws and a relatively small chin.
According to the researchers, it is true that men in Western culture have a preference for blonde women. It just turns out not to be the hair color that excites them. It is the realization that blond hair comes with light skin. Which shows indications of diseases (anemia, jaundice) and sexual interest and arousal (flushing and blotchiness) earlier. Men in ancient times chose fair-skinned women because they were least able to deceive them. What was biologically beneficial at the time has developed into an aesthetic preference.
Complexes
Complexes can arise by comparing oneself with others. Complexes can occur in external aspects, but certainly also in character traits. For example, people want to be more independent or assertive because they see this in other people. In terms of appearance, ideal sizes and shapes are especially desirable; if this is not the case, complexes will occur. This is mainly in women. What can you do about complexes? It is different for every individual. However, it still seems to be good to give yourself compliments, this can give you more self-confidence. This still appears to be the best remedy against complexes. Because someone who believes in himself is happier and has fewer complexes.
New body
Aesthetic plastic surgery is fascinating because it provides a solution to a patient’s psychological problems. An operation can eliminate a problem in a short time, when long intensive treatment sometimes does not work. Sometimes the situation is underestimated. People then say, whether or not as an excuse, that it can be solved by a therapist. The situation can also be reversed. A problem is exaggerated and an intervention is then not really necessary. The trick as a surgeon is to distinguish between what is necessary and absurd. But why is plastic surgery a miracle cure for others and a total disappointment for others?
We judge and are judged by our appearance. We can’t do anything about this, it just is. The first impression is the most important. It determines further behavior towards that person. People go to a plastic surgeon faster than they think. If someone makes more of a comment, one can have serious doubts about the appearance. Plastic surgery is a quick fix, it doesn’t work like a diet. The results are immediately visible. There is also a contrast with the past. People then had an intervention done to please their partner. Now it mainly happens to boost our self-image.
The more demand there is for perfection, the higher the price will be. In ten years, the world of plastic surgery has exploded. This is due to the high demand for beauty surgeries. A surgeon just starting out will be less expensive than an experienced surgeon.
Plastic surgery is also heavily promoted on television. Nowadays there is a show on every channel that features plastic surgery, just think of Beautiful, The Swan, and so on. People here go under the knife all the time, as if it is nothing. It can also be done differently, such as in Mooi Bloot. Here we tinker with women’s self-image without cutting into their bodies.
The results of two identical operations, performed by the same surgeon, may differ from patient to patient. Expectations are always different. The final result is determined by age, health, skin structure, bone structure, scar formation and aftercare. Complications can also occur: swelling, bleeding (also subcutaneous), bruising, pain, infections, numbness, scarring and depression. It is important to stop smoking or drinking before starting the health treatment. This improves the results of the operation.
What many people forget is that plastic surgery is still a form of surgery, and therefore involves risks. Just like with any other routine operation, something can always go wrong.
The seven beauties
The seven beauties are small external features of the face. They are seen as underlining the beauty of the face itself. The seven beauties are: blue eyes with brown hair or brown eyes with blonde hair, long and curled eyelashes, a birthmark on the left or right above your lip, a gap between the teeth, freckles, dimples in your chin or cheeks, almond-shaped eyes.
Influence of the media
In video clips, films, and magazines, in short advertising, women are treated as objects, objects of beauty. Their only job is to look beautiful and to be submissive. The media simply tells them that beauty is on the outside. This belief is instilled in us in our youth, even then we were confronted by the media with the prejudice about beauty. In fairy tales the leading roles are always played by beautiful people who meet the ideal of beauty. A handsome prince and a handsome princess become happy together. Beauty ideals for boys and girls at the moment are, for example: Brad Pitt and Jessica Alba.
Today’s ideal body sizes are not too fat but certainly not too thin. Protruding bones are really not an attractive factor, but neither are rolls of fat.
Even though there is this stereotypical belief about beauty and ugliness, every person has their own view on this. An example of this is that some people find a large nose ugly while others may find a small nose ugly. People judge beauty as a reflection on themselves. So beauty is actually difficult to define.
The media not only imposes beauty ideals on us, it also offers us all kinds of means to achieve this ideal. When zapping on TV you can hardly miss it: at every commercial break we are bombarded with creams, powders and lotions to look as young and toned as possible. The way this happens differs from brand to brand. In a case study of Dove and LOréal we try to explain the difference.
Dove vs L’Oréal
A study by Dove shows that only 1% of Belgian women dare to call themselves beautiful. 92% also believe that the media sets unrealistic beauty ideals. Dove wants to break the stereotypes surrounding beauty. Their goal is to gain a broader definition of beauty.
There is a brand that used to be deaf, but there was not much commotion about it. Nivea made an advertising photo with an old gray woman, with the intention of reaching this target group. Research has shown that older women prefer to see a younger woman in advertising photos. However, it was not a much discussed topic. Until Dove started their campaign. It was all about the real woman, the woman who comes in all races and sizes.
But what exactly is Dove’s goal? They want to break the beauty ideal and show women that they are beautiful too, even if they are not a size 36. In itself this is a good initiative, but there is an important aspect that we must keep in mind: Dove is and remains a company. This means that their very first goal is to make a profit. The question then is where the line can be drawn between making a profit and ethically responsible advertising.
However, if we make a comparison with LOréal, we see that Dove does more for women. The difference is already clear when we go to the websites of Dove and LOréal. Dove’s intro speaks volumes: Dove believes in real beauty, that’s why we wanted to have our products tested by the people they were made for, real women. LOréal doesn’t really have an intro, but on the homepage one is immediately overwhelmed with famous models and actresses such as Claudia Schiffer and Penélope Cruz. It is precisely these brands that give women the idea that they should strive to look like this.
Compared to LOréal, Dove does a lot more for women in terms of self-image. As a company they have good intentions. They try to reach the average woman and do not impose impossible beauty ideals on them, but rather want them to accept themselves as they are.
A few tips
For natural beauty you obviously have to pay attention to certain things and take them into account. Here are some guidelines.
We’re going to start with nutrition. An obese person usually feels ugly, as does a skinny person. To have and maintain a shapely body, one should not just eat and drink, but also eat and drink the right way: Not too much, not too little!
Alcohol and tobacco also have an important influence. An excess of alcohol calories quickly leads to weight gain and damages the nervous system. Smoking satisfies hunger, but tobacco destroys the lungs and it also has no positive effect on the skin.
Thirdly, there is also housing and the environment. To live and fully develop, man needs clean air and natural light.
Sleep is the best cure for fatigue, whether due to nerves or muscles. No tonic, stimulant or tonic can replace natural sleep.
Exercise promotes good breathing and therefore ensures sufficient oxygen supply and is an important condition for staying healthy and beautiful.
3. Inner beauty.
By inner beauty we mean the human soul. How a person can be beautiful on the inside. The inner strength of man within is also very important. Yoga should certainly not be missing. We can also refer to the ‘ying and yang’. There have been many pioneers who have thought about the concept of ‘inner beauty’. Just look at Michelangelo: Beauty comes from the purification of excesses.
Yoga
The origin of the term yoga comes from Sanskrit, literally translated it means yoke, unions, control. So a balance is created between body and mind. In a broader context, it is a Hindu philosophy that teaches one to control one’s feelings, body and mind. If one can do this, it is possible to unite with God. We, in Western society, mean by yoga more a kind of system of exercises to learn to control the mind and especially the body. More than 4,000 years ago, yoga was already a developed system of relaxation exercises. Practicing yoga is more than improving your fitness, it also affects your mind. Yoga has its origins in India. The practice and purpose of Yoga dates back to the Upanishads, a part of the Hindu scriptures written between 1000-5000 BC. Many people start a yoga course without actually knowing what it entails.
There are different forms of yoga. There are many ‘yoga paths’, but this does not mean that they work against each other. It is not possible to live according to one ‘yoga path’ without taking other paths into account. Ultimately, all ‘yoga paths’ are aimed at unification. A first form of Yoga is the yoga of research or Jnana yoga. By this we mean the path to direct insight. Jnana yoga is loosely translated, perhaps best described as “the search for a mystical, final, deathless liberation from the ambiguous world of pleasure and suffering, of success and failure, of birth and death.” A ‘unification’ through knowledge. One form is the yoga of love and devotion directed towards the divine. This form is called bhakti yoga in which love and devotion are central. Raja yoga or yoga of concentration is actually a set of exercises to learn to control the mind. Finally, there is karma yoga, the yoga that acts without thinking about itself. It is more outward-looking. In this branch of yoga the emphasis is on practical effort. The three branches of yoga mentioned above represent complete withdrawal and detachment from the world, so that one can fully concentrate on meditation. For those for whom this is not possible, for example someone who has to care for a sick person, there is karma yoga.
One of the goals of yoga is to become a good person, someone with a healthy body and mind, someone who is able to live happily among everyone else. Practicing yoga gives one a different vision, a vision that says everything is connected. It does not emphasize what is different from each other. Without judging and condemning, we open up to our own personality.
Yoga relaxes your mind and body. It is important for your health that you avoid stress. It does not mean that if you are born healthy, you will remain healthy for the rest of your life. Everything you can perceive with your senses is transient, this is also the case with the body. Everything needs maintenance. Here we think back to the body and mind. Many people only start practicing yoga when they don’t feel good about something. Yoga is good in all cases, whether something is wrong or not, but yoga is actually for healthy people, to prevent complaints. This does not mean that you should not practice yoga if you have complaints.
Vision on life
We asked a yoga instructor some questions. It was very striking that her vision of the world and spirituality differs from that of an everyday person. She is much more aware of what is happening around and within herself. She also gives her vision of beauty a spiritual twist: Beauty takes you out of your cramped, purely personal worries and places you in eternity. The experience only lasts a moment, but that’s enough. She further says that one must have an eye to see the beauty, but also to understand its appearance. If one doesn’t do this, one starts to wonder why life feels so meaningless and empty. Beauty nourishes the soul by serving the spirit. What she means by this is that if someone feels beautiful, this will also radiate.
Pioneers in the search for beauty
Of course, beauty also has to do with philosophy. Nietsche said: Become who you are. An old saying reminded us that the most perfect and most natural work consists in making something like itself. We are our own model, but also the raw material and the sculptor. We can look at our consciousness and subconscious. You must try to reconcile this with your mind. You must think about the heart as well as the flesh. Man is looking for beauty. Why not carry out this wish? Everything human has been recreated from our creation story. Just think of Adam and Eve. Every person is an offspring of the couple. We do not seek beauty as a refuge, but out of fear of reality.
Plato also thought about beauty. He found it a very difficult concept to understand. Plato says that something is beautiful when it partly meets the concept of beautiful. Time and again an ideal is destroyed and a new ideal introduced. Just think of the old days when being fat was fashionable.
Kant provides an analysis of human feelings about beauty and the sublime. He says that beauty is an efficiency without purpose. It’s selfless. Human feelings and forces are given free rein and interact. This creates internal harmony. He further says that people have more or less the same idea of beauty, although they each experience it in a different way.
Oriental beauty
The eye is given much more importance than the rest of the body. The eye is important, it observes people from the outside. But people also talk about the eye of the soul, which means the ability to look at people’s innermost being. An eye has, as it were, the power over good and bad. In the East the evil eye is seen as very influential. The eye has the power over good and bad. There are also rituals against the eye. In the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, necklaces are worn made of blue beads with an eye drawn on them. It serves as a kind of amulet against the evil energy.
]Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang have always existed, but no real interest was ever paid to them. The I Ching, a classic text from ancient China, first mentioned the principle. This text originated approximately 700 to 1000 years BC. Thousands of years passed before Yin Yang was described. There are suspicions that people used nature as a starting point to understand life.
Each of us has seen the symbol of Yin Yang, but do we know what it means?
The two fish, the black and the white that flow into each other clearly show their unity and relationship with each other. The black fish is called Yin. If you look closely you will see that Yin is not completely black, there is a white dot in it, Yang. So Yin is the cause of Yang; which is expressed in the symbol by the white dot in the dark Yin. You get the same thing when you look at Yang. Yang is not completely white, there is a black Yin dot in it. Yang is the originator of Yin; which is expressed in the symbol by the black dot in the light Yang.
The concepts of Yin and Yang are simultaneously opposite, yet complementary. One cannot exist without the other. So they are not pure opposites, like good and evil, but they exist solely in relation to each other. In an example from classical culture, Yin would be associated with a dark moon, turned away from the sun, and representing feminine nature. Yang would then be associated with the sun, which therefore represents masculine nature. A more modern example would be a traffic light (standstill) which is associated with Yin and the traffic (movement) just passing by is associated with Yang.
Yin and Yang are not absolute, you cannot say that everything is Yin, but also not that everything is Yang. You have probably tried to completely empty your insides of thoughts, but this is very difficult. Empty means white, white means Yang, but there remains a black dot of Yin in the white. From this you can conclude that you cannot be completely empty, without thoughts. How else can you end up with both feet on earth? If you no longer have thoughts, you cannot get out of meditation.
Health based on Ying and Yang
Yin and Yang are the basis of all Chinese medicine. Only when Yin and Yang are in balance in the body can one talk about health, vitality and stability. According to this Chinese philosophy, outer and inner beauty are strictly linked. When a person has a good, attractive appearance, it is also the result of good inner health. Everything you feel or think has a certain chemical effect, to which the cells in your body respond. Stress and negative emotions damage and stimulate the aging of skin cells. On the other hand, positive emotions increase your resistance and also ensure that the skin becomes radiant. Positive emotions keep you literally and figuratively radiant and healthy. This way you really stay as young as you feel. Tests prove that what you think and feel, you actually radiate. So in other words, if you feel good about yourself, you attract people. On the one hand this is the magic, but on the other hand it is also the secret of a good appearance.
Working on your own health (internal) is often experienced as something difficult. Working on your external or own beauty is usually experienced as something relaxing. It is sometimes said: If you want to be beautiful, you must be able to suffer pain, but in Chinese medicine it actually means: If you want to be beautiful, you must feel good.
4. Beauty in art
Art is a versatile concept, but in general we can say that art strives for form and above all hopes for beauty. In line with this theme, we use Umberto Eco’s book entitled History of Beauty. In this way we can learn the origins of the term beauty as applied to art.
History of beauty
The book discusses various aspects, namely painting, sculpture, architecture, film, photography, literature and poetry. This shows that art is very versatile. He applies these different aspects to various important periods in the timeline of art, for example Botticelli and Michelangelo, but also the fashion from the 60s. This book gives you a new vision of beauty. One learns that beauty is not just about external beauty, but inner beauty. One must look further and have an open mind. By looking at a work of art we also unconsciously make a link with the emotions of the artist who had them at the time of creation. For example, through art we have learned what the ideal of beauty was of the Greeks and Romans. We can refer here to The Discus Thrower by Myron. As you can see in this photo, the muscle mass is extra emphasized. To further accentuate this muscle mass, posing in an unnatural position.
5. Conclusion
A large number of people have studied beauty over the centuries and people still work on it every day. Beauty is and remains a multifaceted concept. It is so versatile because it can be viewed from different perspectives. It can be about aesthetic aspects or something spiritual. Beauty is something beautiful to achieve but one should not become a slave to the desire to achieve that beauty. We can spend hours trying to explain it, but there will never be an actual definition. A general image can be created about beauty: it is something universal, different in cultures and subject to time.
The beauty of the earth is not for sale; it belongs to those who discover it, understand it, and know how to enjoy it. Henry Bordeaux
