Beauty Is In the Eye of the... Experts?

 

The standard of beauty, according to some scientists



Yesterday, over on OHN, I read a post about experts in Britain proclaiming that 18-year-old Florence Colgate might be the world’s most beautiful woman. The article (posted originally on Gawker) mostly states that this is because of the “scientific ideal” of distance from her ears to eyes and between her eyes and mouth. And I have read before about how scientists and psychologists coming up with some kind of way to determine what “ideal” beauty is based on how people react to pictures (but whose ideal, what pictures were shown & who they were shown to, IDK). Yet at the end of the article, it says “Florence has all the classic signs of beauty… She has large eyes, high cheekbones, full lips and a fair complexion.” No surprise that Ms. Colgate is young, blonde, blue-eyed, and thin. Yes, for many, she is the standard of beauty.

Today I read that People Magazine has named Beyoncé the world’s most beautiful woman. She has a beautiful smile, always looks flawless, and her figure is stunning–my words, not People‘s. Although the magazine’s title-holder changes from year to year and isn’t based on any particular science (that I’m aware of) it holds about as much weight as the opinion of the “experts.”

Bey, post-baby

No doubt, both of these women are attractive. But why do we feel compelled to hold up anyone as the “standard” or the “most” attractive? Why do we not actually believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Instead of celebrating everyone’s beauty, we select a few people and say “This is what beauty is. Oh, you don’t measure up? Too bad!” Of course it’s nothing new. But just because we’re used to it doesn’t make it a good thing. We as a society (and especially as women, seeing as how we are the ones constantly bombarded with the message that we aren’t enough as is) should learn to accept and embrace our differences and “imperfections.” No one will meet everyone’s standard of beauty, because we each have different ideals. But to someone, to many, you are beautiful inside and out. And you don’t need an expert to tell you that.