i often think, though reluctantly that white people have the most beautiful faces - big eyes, delicate narrow nose,etc,. i know this might sound shallow but admit it - beauty does matter and it certainly makes your life easier and i'm an artist (who appreciates beauty), so i am desperate for a fair belief i can stand on.

i'm rather philosphical and believe that beauty is an illusion that is implanted on a person's mind through exposing him or her to the media,etc. But then, there is the golden rule, face masks, and baby face theorys and thus, i am one confused teenager. however, i don't believe in universal beauty that we respond to instintively because in some places, there is things like lip strecthing, and foot-binding which doesn't fit into the universal beauty standard that some claim have been incoded into our DNA.

also, there is other factors such as social values and images of each ethinicity, sterotypes and so on. for example, the media reinforces the attractiveness of white people through all the hollywood movies and magazines.

i would appreciate it if you could give me constructive answers to philosphical theory of beauty and why white people seem to look best. i actually heard someone say that caucasoids are the most evolved and that's why, but that's bu******.

Since this is the depression board, I'm going to make a mental leap and guess you are depressed because you don't believe you are beautiful enough.
I too am an artist, and appreciate the beauty of things that are balanced, not necessarily symmetrical or that mimic some popular standard, just things that are balanced.
I agree that the rest of it is based upon what our society values as beauty.
You might want to do some internet searching on the phrase "body dismorphic disorder."
I have it. Basically it means that I can never think that I look good enough.
About the ethnicity part of your post--I saw one of those celebrity bio shows recently on the life of Halley Berry. Her great beauty seems to be due to the mixture of races rather than the influence of just one.

Beauty is truth. Truth beauty.... I forgot who told me that. I have a hard time responding to anything that has to do with beauty because I have none. Its kind of relative to how you see it not what is glamorized and shoved down your throat. Im a prime example of how beauty or well in my case, the lack there of; can deplete the quality of a persons life. I would assume you are asking these questions for some reason more than just a constructive answer to beauty.

I don't appreciate beauty. Primarily the physical kind. Because its seperates itself from everything else. And everything gets tagged as average, or in my case, flat out ugly. Beautiful cities, beautiful places, beautiful people and if it doesnt look slim and like paradise then it must be ugly. Why cant everything have beauty? Why cant I? Why cant a photographer go in a back alley and find beauty there? Now beauty is suppose to be a hair color. A skin color. The shape of someones nose. A size. But I guess its been that way forever. Just worse.

Heck I may just be beautiful. But because im black, overweight, and have bad facial features. Im considered the worse of the worse. And its me against society and the media, and our culture and most importantly, our own human nature, for me to try to convince anyone else otherwise. Your a artist. I would love if you would step out of the box and take a picture of something unconventional. Something other than what everyone else thinks. I bet you youll find something extraordinarily beautiful.

Despite the fact that I am considered good looking I still suffer from major depression. A lot of it has to do with my upbringing and the way my father treated me. Dont think that looks are the answer to life because they are not. The mind is the most powerful thing in the world. If you can figure out how to control it to make yourself the best possible person you can be, life will flourish for you.

Hi everyone :wave:

I'm going to jump in here, because I was recently thinking about the perception of beauty myself. When I meet someone for the first time, I try so hard to remember names and what's being said that I have difficulty remembering what they actually look like. Of course, that's just the way I am.

When I get to know the individual, even if it is only casually, I finally see them. What I see is the smile on their face and it doesn't matter to me if their teeth are crooked, their nose too big or their eyes are crossed. Yes, I actually know people with these characteristics. If someone is mean spirited and vindictive, how could they be beautiful? I don't think it's possible.

The longer you get to be around someone and get to know them, it really doesn't matter if they are too short or too tall, too thin or too fat, etc...

Society has it's standards of beauty. You see it on TV, movies, magazines. But when you go out shopping or when you're just out for a walk, how many of those type of people do you see? Not that many, I bet. I think beauty comes in all sizes, shapes and colours and has a way of developing over time and with age.

When someone sees weeds growing in their lawn, someone else may see beautiful flowers.

Sad Man :bouncing:

I know you could have said this so much better than me. ;)

Sad Man :bouncing:

I know you could have said this so much better than me. ;)

I thought you said it quite well Marcia.

couldn't have said it better myself. ;)