"Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder." This quote of wisdom has always raised many questions in my head!
How close is this quote to the real world? And what exactly is the eye of the
beholder?
If this quote was true, it would mean that there are no specific standards or a specific definition to the term "beauty"; and that each person has his/her own understanding to what is beautiful and what is ugly which could be extremely unique and different from any other understanding or explanation! What (or who) appears to be a masterpiece of beauty in my eyes could very much be a repulsive hideousness to yours, yet, both images are justifiable in every sense! To me, if a world based on such a simple concept did exist, it would be the fair world I would dream of living in. Sadly, fact is, that it''s closer to being a platonic myth than it is to reality.
At our present time, beauty, just like any other concept, has turned into a victim of a materialistic stereotype. It is being narrowed down to the understanding of physical beauty and perfection and this beauty (that of the image) is being placed at the top of the priority list. Therefore if we look around us, we find that this plague has infected every person, becoming a serious obsession to many people. Consequently, industries that have to do with over priced materialistic commodities (or services) like fashion design, cosmetics, cars, and plastic surgery have risen rapidly in the past two decades.
I grew up, reading stories about women from my mother''s generation. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, young women were pioneers of their times, playing a vital role in the most drastic and progressive social, political and economical changes in history. One of the main aims of the feminist movement was to get rid of the way the world perceived women – objects for physical fulfillment and housework machines.
After all this effort, it is very sad to see most young women of this generation who are not only obsessed with their looks but also compete to win the title "the sexiest", "the hottest", "the most desirable by men" and "the most stupid", rather than focusing on projecting an image that say "the confident", "the intelligent", "the intellectual" and "the independent".
I''m not
writing this article to attack young women, but that was just one side, that I could relate to very closely being a woman. The plague also has affected the men of our doomed generation! The main reason that leads young women to be what they are now is because of the mentality of young men, because as I said earlier, it is a man''s world!
Men also have their own standards, the main aim of a young graduate now a days is to get a job, not to secure his future, but to get himself a loan from the bank to buy the most expensive sports car, in addition to the usual – fashion designer wear, latest accessories, latest mobile phone and other gadgets. All this, to follow the norm and go with the flow to eventually impress one of "the sexiest", "the hottest", "the most desirable" and "the most stupid" wanna be''s I''ve mentioned earlier!
The question here is: who is to blame for such a situation? Is it our generation? Or our parents for not bringing us up the right way? Both certainly do take some of the responsibility for allowing themselves to be ignorant and get sucked into this vicious circle, but I personally think that most of the blame goes elsewhere.
If we look back and analyze our past and our current lifestyle we would find millions of factors that lead to this phenomenon.
I''ll start with an example from my childhood. One of the most enjoyable pass times to me as a child was (and still is to little girls) the most lethal weapon attacking my intelligence! Its every girl''s best friend: Barbie. We grew up playing with our dear Barbie not knowing that this innocent toy is in reality directing our psyche to eventuome Barbie, in every sense. We want to be to be slim like her with soft hair and blue eyes. Not only the looks, but we also want to have fashionable clothes, luxurious car, home and also a handsome rich Ken to marry.
As we grow older, come the tv and movie theatres broadcasting movies shows that focus on the importance and of being a member of the cheerleader squad and prom queen (for girls), and being a football player and prom king (for guys) as opposed to the negligence and the bullying of good writers, actors, artists, members of debate teams or any other intellectual interest, in other words, the "nerds". In addition, we''re also brainwashed by reality TV shows, revolving around, wealth, luxury, dating and make overs!
This deterioration of popular culture, made people numb, and brainwashed from what is really important in life. Therefore, the lives of young people revolve around such skin deep trivial matters. At present times ethics and moralities, seem to have lost value. Every one tries to be some one they are not, duplicates of one another!
Aren''t you petrified yet?