Everchanging Beauty.

Essay by ScarabdracCollege, Undergraduate April 2003

download word file, 2 pages 4.0

Ever-changing Beauty

The concept of beauty is known throughout the world. But the ideas and values that are considered beautiful differ from place to place and even change in the same place as time moves on. The standards by which beauty is judged are determined by various aspects of our culture which have been evolving since the dawn of civilization. Many of these standards of beauty have change over the years as society has changed, but some have also remained the same.

Cultural values and other circumstances have changed how people have viewed beauty for eons. Much of what is considered beautiful in a person is based on the values of society, especially the various roles of men and women. For instance, in "Beauty and the Beast," by Mme. Le Prince de Beaumont, Beauty is to be considered beautiful in both appearance and personality. Her sisters were not considered beautiful because of their repelling personalities, even though they were all described as physically beautiful.

This can show that the traits of being nice and amiable are considered positive and attribute toward one's beauty, while being ill-humored and proud are thought to be negative and ugly. It also shows beauty as relying more on personality than physical appearances. In "Drugs, Sports, Body Image and G.I. Joe," Natalie Angier describes how the ideas of what is beautiful in the modern world now focus more heavily on the physical aspects of a person. This fundamental shift has been brought about by centuries of cultural changes, which leaves one to wonder how beauty will be judged in the next hundred years.

As many aspects of our culture have changed, many aspects of beauty have changed. For example, the ideal appearance of a woman was considered fair and slightly overweight a few centuries...