Every culture has its own idea of beauty. It's hard to say whether this is a good or bad thing; but I will say that it is undeniable. Who knows how these standards begin? True, there are many cultures whose idea of beauty may not seem valid to me, as a young American. Still, I think what we think of physical beauty can transcend many cultures, i.e. a beautiful man or woman would probably be considered so in many different countries. Maybe globalization has something to do with that. Now more than ever, we are in touch with the cultures of industrialized countries. Has what we consider beautiful been evolving more rapidly ever since technology has allowed us to interact with several different cultures and their ideas of beauty?
I agree with the phrase "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but it seems like the "beholder" is really a collective of individuals. American culture says that a woman who does not shave under her arms is not beautiful. French culture does not necessarily put that stipulation on beauty. In this case, Americans are one of the "beholders" and the French are another.
Its interesting to look at the more studious aspect, i.e. women statistically being sexually attracted to square-jawed males. Maybe there is a standard of beauty that is rooted deeper than our cultural influences. Its hard to tell, really, since we are constantly being force-fed what is supposed to be beautiful anyway. I do know one thing for sure: even if we as humans are generally in agreement on what is beautiful, we put entirely too much emphasis on its importance.
I agree with the phrase "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but it seems like the "beholder" is really a collective of individuals. American culture says that a woman who does not shave under her arms is not beautiful. French culture does not necessarily put that stipulation on beauty. In this case, Americans are one of the "beholders" and the French are another.
Its interesting to look at the more studious aspect, i.e. women statistically being sexually attracted to square-jawed males. Maybe there is a standard of beauty that is rooted deeper than our cultural influences. Its hard to tell, really, since we are constantly being force-fed what is supposed to be beautiful anyway. I do know one thing for sure: even if we as humans are generally in agreement on what is beautiful, we put entirely too much emphasis on its importance.
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