Boring question #96: When will people ”get real” about what is truly the beauty standard?

What people do collectively (VS models, Ms. Whatever Pageants) is different from what we do and think as individuals. Marketing people who are trying to sell things will try to appeal to the broadest possible spectrum. What we are attracted to and the philosophies we espouse about our attractions are very different on the personal level.

It sounds like you are comparing apples (group think about what is desirable) to oranges (what individuals say about their thoughts on beauty).

It’s about money. When isn’t it about money? Rich people can afford personal trainers and nutritionists. The rest of us can’t. 100 years ago, the rich could afford good food when the rest couldn’t, so larger women were the ideal. Now that the vast majority of people in our society can eat enough to become heavy, the ideal of what (ideal) rich women are like has changed to being slim. You can thank Coco Chanel in the ‘20s for this.

All female beauty standards from whatever period of time are really the advertisements about a society’s ideal mode of wealth. Men aren’t subject to quite the same standards, and a hunky guy with symmetrical features has always been seen as handsome.

Fitter is better. Fact.

The only good advice my older brother ever gave me: ‘Looks are what makes you want to talk to the girl. Personality is what makes you want to stay talking to her.’

Acts and advertisements are all about the immediate draw, so looks are much more important than personality.

When I first get to know a woman, it is her character, values and the way she relates to those about whom she cares that contribute to my coming to love her. Once I love her, I come to see her as the embodiment of beauty and sexual attractiveness.

Yes, a pleasing face or attractive body still catches my eye. It does not result in approach behaviour on my part when I am in a loving relationship with another.

I’ve never wished that I had been in a relationship with a stereotypical beauty. So many such women have been damaged by all the attention unrelated to their inner characteristics.

Ermmm… could it be that some people are attracted to lasting values rather than temporary satisfaction? What beauty doesn’t fade?

We all learned this lesson from Santa. Did we wait patiently for the wrapper, or did we rip it to shreds to find the treasure inside?

@aprilsimnel Rich people can afford personal trainers and nutritionists. The rest of us can’t. 100 years ago, the rich could afford good food when the rest couldn’t, so larger women were the ideal. There might be something there. I can see a fuller figure being seen as a sign of wealth, and maybe good or better living. That would explain the fact that many famous nude canvases of women, the women do not look like bread sticks. It would not have been a crossover to men. Plump men were seen as soft, and not rugged men who worked with his hands. Maybe slender people represent having better food and not the junk food that causes people to be fat. That is an interesting angle I will look into more.

@Hypocrisy_Central You here(sic) it all the time, beauty is only skin-deep. “Those who only go for the eye candy are shallow.”

You can’t have a conversation, bond, etc. with a nice pair of breasts. Those that only care about looks are shallow.

@FutureMemory Those that only care about looks are shallow. With anything what it looks like will get it pick, purchased, or eaten quicker than something that looked less than. The last time you purchased a vehicle would you have bought it if it was dirty, unpolished, and had bird poop on the hood? If your meal at the restaurant came to your table with the peas slashed into the gravy, the mashed potatoes slathered all over the meat, and just look a mess, would you just take it and eat it or say something about it? The personality is useless if you have mere moments to a minute to catch the attention.

@Hypocrisy_Central The last time you purchased a vehicle would you have bought it if it was dirty, unpolished, and had bird poop on the hood?

If it was in good condition otherwise, yes. A pristine looking vehicle that has a bum engine is worthless.

Because normal people aren’t about the beauty pageants, they’re about life and life is about more than just looks. Not to say that looks don’t count, they do, but it’s more complex than that.

@Hypocrisy_Central – I’ve been trying to formulate a response to this, but have been unable to do it without it becoming too personal. The one thing that I can say is that beauty standards are different for different cultures. Nigeria and Mauritania, for example, prefer large women. If we’re talking about the U.S. and some parts of Europe, this site has some interesting data. A bit disheartening to me because I was obviously meant to be born in another time . I’m built like the woman in the picture except with a bigger chest. Not so great in this day and in this country.