Varying forms of what could best be described as peer pressure have also led to the skewing of the perceptions of beauty over the ages; whether one is looking at the popular fads that have grabbed the attention (and wallets) of young people probably for as long as young people have gathered together in groups, or the adult ideas of beauty that spring from something such as nice clothing, a fine horse or in modern times a new vehicle with all of the best features, the influence of others has led people to follow a preconceived notion of beauty and the lack of beauty as well.
Can Morality be Attached to Beauty?
Just as cultural mores can and have led to perceptions of beauty or the lack of beauty for as long as the human race has existed, and the morality imposed on humans by the organized religions of the world, morality itself can be attached to beauty as shown by some remarkable modern day examples.
Academic studies have shown in terms of physical beauty, in the field of criminology for example, that when shown photographs of "beautiful people" who were in fact criminals, in comparison to innocent people who did not possess beauty, the more beautiful people were believed to be the innocent individuals, when in fact the exact opposite was true (Burke). In other words, in this instance, the concept of morality was automatically associated with the presence of beauty. For these individuals, beauty did in fact equate itself with purity and goodness, as well as the opposite case. Another example of this is the current culture obsessed with handsome or pretty celebrities to the point where...
S. government has promoted breast implants, at the taxpayers' expense: According to the Army, between 2000 and 2003 its doctors performed 496 breast enlargements (women must pay for the silicon implants) (Schaler 29). Health safety does not seem to have an impact on those desiring cosmetic surgery, nor does the comments of authority figures. In 1958 Pope Pins XII warned that operations for mere "vanity" or to enhance the "power of
Beauty Exchange The documentary The Beauty Exchange displays the life of typical Czech women in the 21st century struggling with the image of beauty. Every person is shaped by the world around them and the basis for what a woman should look like has been instilled in society through magazines, TV, movies, advertisements, celebrities. The challenges that women are constantly facing are perfect skin, gorgeous hair, flawless make-up, good figure, fashionable
Beauty & the Disney Beast "Beauty and the Beast" was never really about beauty or ugliness. It has always been about admiration; the reaching out and obtaining of a kind of wealth that otherwise seemed beyond comprehension. Not surprisingly, of course, since ugliness cannot be rewarded in its own right -- or at least it couldn't be prior to the advent of reality TV -- the creature gifted with the keys
Beauty Beast Judgment and Superficiality in "Beauty and the Beast": Parsing a Fairytale from a Postmodern Perspective It is the conceit of nearly every epoch to assume that certain ideas, perspectives, and frameworks are new or unique to the current time, and with postmodernism this has extended to the notion of purposefully and meaningfully fragmented texts. That is, many postmodernists view fragmentation and purposeful alienation from reality -- truly, a questioning of
Beauty & Sadness in Japanese Literature My Dear Friend, I applaud you ambition to visit Japan for a summer session of study, and your focus on the distinct works of literature and art to emerge from Japanese culture is admirable. Having devoted much of my own studies to Japanese literature, both in historical and contemporary form, I can honestly say that you are embarking on a personal quest for knowledge that, while
Beauty's totality, therefore, is much more than qualities that one can see or perceive with the senses. Yet perhaps the most enduring aspect of beauty and its true value to the world and beyond lies in its capacity to foster love. Quite simply, beauty is loved, and love, at the same time, is certainly beautiful. Walker comes to this conclusion at the end of her essay, in which her low
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