What is "beautiful" ?

OK, I know that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" ( Shakespear I think ? ).

BUT...what do you consider to be the the most attractive part about a person THAT MATTERS ?

Here's what I was thinking:

I have looked at a lot of the faces of the beautiful girls, ( sorry but the guys don't do it for me 8) ), in the profiles of TFS and I have noticed that many of them in these profiles either do the "eyes" thing - like Kylie Minogue is very good at - or they make themselves look mysterious by covering their faces with their hair or their fingers or by the use of strategic makeup.

Do we really put enough measure in the faces of pretty or handsome people or do we very quickly let our eyes stray down South too quickly ?

An example would be the singer Michelle McManus who has the most beautiful face but she weighs - or used to - around fifteen stones.

So, with that example in mind I have to ask: Do we often make instant judgements about beauty and attraction which spoil us for the hidden beauty or the inner beauty of some people ?

OR, are we far too heavily influenced by what we see in the magazines and the other media as to what should be beauty-personified ?

I think a lot of people confuse the words "hot" and "beautiful" these days. Many of the actresses which the media call "beautfiul" are really just kinda hot sexy people, true beauty is an extremely rare thing. [wow i sound corny ]

Beautiful isn't ugly. SO in other words, beauty is anything other than paris hilton.

I personally think age is a major factor here.

Everyone IS attractive in their own ways - and every individual has his / her own personality trait that sets them apart from the rest.

Ok - I may be a little bit stereotypical here... but the younger generation more often than not place more emphasis on physical attributes. How often have we heard people muse: "Oh... when I was younger, I would find him/her attractive - but he/she's hardly my type now." It is not uncommon to find that the idea of "beauty" that teens have would be entirely superficial; fueled by the idealistic images portrayed by glossy magazines, movies and glamorous models. This does not apply to all, though... I have come across many young people who know precisely what they want, are able to think beyond their years and put many adults to shame.

Most prepubescent teens would get excited at a walking, breathing 'run of the mill' sexy person as immortalised by their idols and the faces staring at them from the pages of a magazine... but as they enter adulthood, most will find that their preferences grow with them. To put it crudely, it's no longer enough to have "Wham, Bam, Thank you ma'am(s)" sessions - the ability to communicate with the other person would feature more.

When a person appeals to you - either through intellect or their little quirks and idiosyncrasies - they become instantly attractive to you.

Of course it would be hypocritical of me if I said that looks does not matter... for a spark of interest to be ignited in a person, there must be that certain something about another person that appeals to the eye.

Having said that, it's been proven that we are societal and communal creatures. As much as we would like to disagree, society DOES play a part in what we (as a whole) consider beauty. There have been many studies by sociologists, (Desmond Morris, Dr. Stephen Hawking), that have shown societies' major influence on our "concept" of beauty. For example, there is a tribe in which the women stretch their lips and wear bigger and bigger "lip plates". Many western cultures find this unattractive and even revolting, but to the members of that tribe it is a mark of sheer beauty, and we are the "ugly" ones.

Hollywood, with it's pervasive print, television and movies, sets the tone for a lot of cultural definitions of beauty in many Western countries... and lately, the Asian one, too. Recent studies have shown that many people all over the world are adhering to the Hollywood 'standards' of beauty... which has led to an alarming increase in illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and even the UK.

Society determines, to a very large extent, its version of beauty. However, I do believe that each person is a unique individual with their own unique characteristics. The question is when they find their own personalities. So... just because studies have shown that we react in a more positive way towards what the current idea of beauty is... there is plenty of room for individual interpretation.

To each his own - one man's meat, may be another man's poison.

Beauty is you own opinion of an object or person, you can share that opinion with others or have it all to yourself but at the end of the day beauty is what gets your subconsious going.

I think for those who do not challenge what they are force fed by the media tend to judge beauty by whatever look is hot at the time. In my experience this being younger guys and girls (no offence intended as this is just my experience).

Whereas those a little more worldly wise, secure in thier own tastes and do not accept what the media suggest is beauty tend to look for thier own definition.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule.

Hmmmm, great stuff, especially that examination by babyrs ( as usual ).

And yes, I am sure that relativity does play a large part in the measurement of beauty as people compare age with age and custom with custom and local fashion.

It is also true that many of the young of any species, ( except maybe insects of course ) are almost always "cute" or attractive to the species that is measuring it and as the animal gets older it loses this youthful beauty and either develops an older beauty - or not - in some cases !

It may be just the survival of the species that makes us attracted to our own age-groups so that the physical contact that may follow that attraction will ensure good procreation.

Of course there are some occasions where younger humans are attracted to older, ( sometimes relatively VERY old ), persons when the attraction is not easy to see or measure. Mostly this happens between younger girls and older men rather than vice-versa, even if it does happen this way occasionally too.

I have often heard it reported by young females that they are attracted to older men because younger men can still be immature while younger females mature much more quickly and need the stability that the age gap brings with it. ( Of course we must also consider that at times the attraction is not so much physical as monetary here too ).

I've a light crush on someone 15 years older than me...and trust me, it does NOT have to do with money. (If finances were taken into account, I'm guessin girls would stay far, far, away from him. )

Beauty...

I DO think there's a physical aspect to it...cant deny I prefer the tall, dark, and handsome type. I am more attracted to guys that are..."easy on the eyes", so to say. But if they're being jerks? G'bye!

But (especially since I meet so many people on the net) beauty's so much more than skin-deep! What Baby said, about different societies having different standards - so true...I think that point was illustrated pretty well in the movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy . And like, how the ancient Mayans used to think big ears were a sign of beauty and nobility, so they used to stretch their ears til they were HUGE...

I'm hoping, with this whole new Internet/"Global Village" revolution, people will start to move away from the superficial ideas of beauty presented by Hollywood and the media...getting to know people and what they're like and the beauty inside...I think it's great.

I also think there are more outwardly (physically) beautiful people out there than are given credit for... I dont really see truly "ugly" people when I walk out and about.

Pap - what you said about people who post pictures up...sometimes yes, it's because they're trying to emulate a certain celeb's style or something...but sometimes it's just because we like ourselves that way? I mean...I LIKE my hair partly covering my face sometimes, or having my bangs swept to the side, or playing up my eyes with make up...it's for me and what *I* like, not for what other people'll think or because it's how a favourite celeb does her makeup.

I agree with whoever up there said it though - there's a confusion between "hot" and "beautiful" these days. Getting to lose it's meaning...

beau?ti?ful ( P ) Pronunciation Key (byt-fl)
adj.
Having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight.
Excellent; wonderful.

https://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=beautiful