Shawn Jennings
Professor Young
November 10, 2014
English 1100
What
is Beauty?
During the TED Talk given by Cameron Russell,
entitled “Looks aren’t Everything.
Believe me I’m a Model”, she discusses the honesty in beauty. While Aimee Mullins provides a TED Talk, “My 12 Pairs of Legs”, where
she focuses on how beauty can be constructed.
I agree with both women in the fact that beauty can be honest and
constructed. Beauty is defined by a
combination of qualities present in a thing or person that pleases the visual
senses or brings about deep satisfaction. Many people take that definition to
mean that beauty describes a person’s outward appearance. Although a person’s
outward appearance can be defined by the term beauty, true beauty lies in the
way a person acts and thinks rather than the way they look, as well as beauty
being present in the construction of art.
The term beauty is subjective to each and every person. Today, so much emphasis is placed on a person’s physical appearance, or in Cameron Russell’s words, “winning the genetic lottery” (Russell 2:37). Physically attractive girls and guys are known as beautiful and desirable, and those individuals who don’t meet society’s standards of “beauty” are mocked or ridiculed. Yet, beauty doesn’t always have to mean the outward appearance of a person. Beauty can define a person’s heart and personality; it can describe an inspiring view, or it can explain a person’s actions. It’s true that a person’s appearance can be described as beautiful as well, but that is only part of the definition of beauty. A person can be beautiful just from the way they act towards others or the way they go about their daily lives. True beauty, or inner beauty, is seen with the heart; not the eyes.
Beauty can be found anywhere. Everything from an amazing sunrise, to an individual helping a homeless person, to someone lost in thought, is beautiful. There’s almost something profound about catching those tiny moments of beauty in a person or place; someone sitting in a cafĂ© lost in thought while reading a novel, or an old married couple holding hands. During those moments, it’s almost as if the individuals’ true self is taking center stage. The viewer is allowed to see past what society wants the people to think is beautiful and is truly able to catch a glimpse of what beauty means in its simplest terms.
The term beauty is subjective to each and every person. Today, so much emphasis is placed on a person’s physical appearance, or in Cameron Russell’s words, “winning the genetic lottery” (Russell 2:37). Physically attractive girls and guys are known as beautiful and desirable, and those individuals who don’t meet society’s standards of “beauty” are mocked or ridiculed. Yet, beauty doesn’t always have to mean the outward appearance of a person. Beauty can define a person’s heart and personality; it can describe an inspiring view, or it can explain a person’s actions. It’s true that a person’s appearance can be described as beautiful as well, but that is only part of the definition of beauty. A person can be beautiful just from the way they act towards others or the way they go about their daily lives. True beauty, or inner beauty, is seen with the heart; not the eyes.
Beauty can be found anywhere. Everything from an amazing sunrise, to an individual helping a homeless person, to someone lost in thought, is beautiful. There’s almost something profound about catching those tiny moments of beauty in a person or place; someone sitting in a cafĂ© lost in thought while reading a novel, or an old married couple holding hands. During those moments, it’s almost as if the individuals’ true self is taking center stage. The viewer is allowed to see past what society wants the people to think is beautiful and is truly able to catch a glimpse of what beauty means in its simplest terms.
It
is harder to find beauty in someone’s appearance that is natural or honest
within our society. It is almost
impossible to look around and not see a picture that is either photo shopped or
enhanced in some way. As Cameron Russell states in her TED Talk, the pictures she takes are “constructions by a group of professionals” (Russell 5:26). Many social media applications, such as
Instagram and Snapchat, also have filters to make pictures appear
different. When people look at these
pictures they feel ugly and their self-esteem drops. Seeing these pictures also sets an impossible
standard to achieve. Which, in turn,
pressures women or men into getting plastic surgery to achieve this unreachable
goal. When in reality the goal of
reaching honest beauty can be met.
On the other hand,
I believe beauty can be honest. For
instance, there are many other ways beauty could be portrayed besides
appearance. For example, personality can
be perceived as being beautiful. Someone
who has a kind-hearted personality can be described as being beautiful. A person who is naturally kind or sweet can
be defined as having “natural beauty”. A
person like this does not need Photoshop to show their natural beauty. It is who they are as a person, not what they
look like. Personality is always honest
because it expresses who someone is as a person. Expressing who you are as a person is not
only being honest with others, but also being honest with yourself. As long as people are honest with themselves
they can be comfortable with showing their own beauty, while recognizing others
inner beauty.
The main point of
Aimee Mullins TED Talk is the idea
that beauty can be constructed.
Throughout her speech, Aimee refers to the many pairs of legs, twelve to
be exact, on stage with her at the time.
She explains that each pair of legs were constructed to look beautiful,
almost as if they were art. I agree with
Aimee. I believe beauty can be
constructed in the form of art, but not to the extent of plastic surgery.
Some
examples of art are paintings, sculptures, and in this case prosthetic
legs. I believe art is beautiful and for
art to become beautiful it has to be constructed. Famous painters had to construct their work
in order for it to become a beautiful painting.
For example, Leonardo da Vinci had to construct the Mona Lisa for it to
become beautiful. Another example would
be the construction of a “pair of hand-carved wooden legs made from solid ash” (Mullins
4:28). If beauty was unable to be
constructed what word would we use to describe works of art? Famous sculptures are called “a work of art”
for a reason. The reason is because the
sculpture had to be made or constructed to look a certain way, just like
Aimee’s prosthetic legs had to be made to look beautiful.
I
also believe that the construction of beauty can go too far. For example, plastic surgery is not a
construction of beauty, it is a deconstruction of yourself. Once someone gets a body part enhanced by the
form of plastic surgery they are not themselves anymore. Plastic surgery may construct parts of your
body, but it does not make you beautiful.
Beauty
can be constructed in the form of art.
Beauty cannot be constructed in the form of plastic surgery. Art is made to look beautiful while it is
also constructed. On the other hand,
plastic surgery is the construction of the body, but not beauty.
Both honest and
the construction of beauty can be seen all around us. From kind-hearted people with wonderful
personalities to gorgeous pieces of art such as the Mona Lisa. Beauty is not defined by looks. There are many different components to make a
person or thing beautiful.
