PHYSICAL BEAUTY

Physical Beauty

Physical Beauty

Introduction

Physical beauty has been noted in the works of Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period, such as Pythagoras. Plato made ??an abstraction of the concept and saw the beauty as a notion of independent existence of beautiful things. According to the Platonic conception, beauty in the world is visible to all; however, true beauty lies in the soul that can only be accessed if we direct our attention (Swami & Furnham 2008). The concept of physical beauty concerns in virtually every important sphere of life. From the fashion show stereotypes of beauty through the literary and artistic representations of physical beauty, humans continue to value this concept in many dimensions.

Discussion

Beauty is an abstract notion linked to many aspects of human existence. This concept is studied mainly by the philosophical discipline of aesthetics, but is also attributed to other disciplines such as history, sociology and social psychology. Commonly beauty is defined as the characteristic of a thing through a sensory experience (perception) implying a feeling of pleasure or a feeling of satisfaction. In this sense, the beauty comes from events such as the shape, the visual aspect, the movement and sound, although it is associated, to a lesser extent, with flavors and smells (Swami & Furnham 2008). In the visual aspect, Aquinas defines beauty as that which pleases the eye. The perception of "beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity that is in balance and harmony with nature, and can lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well being. Because it is a subjective experience, it is often said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". In its most profound sense, beauty may engender from an experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's own existence (Lombardi 1997).

The current standards for physical beauty for men and women vary due to established biological and social dispositions. Currently, "high fashion" continues to promote the standard of female beauty as an extremely thin, very tall figure with narrow hips and long legs. A woman should have a graceful figure with well-known parameters of 36-24-36. Long haired females are perceived to have a greater physical attraction. Lip curve and bigger eyes would make more appeal for women. Coupled with this is the need of a photogenic face. On the other hand men's physical beauty standards vary across different countries. In all, masculine qualities like boldness, strength, athleticism, ...