With over 7 billion people in the world, it would be reasonable to assume that this huge number of people should equal an immeasurable quantity of beauty.
Interesting beauty too - muted rainbows of colours, a plethora of shapes, infinite structures and sizes.
And yet, so often is the value of true beauty marred by our narrow-mindedness and the inescapable influence of the big ugly media monster. The monster whose fiery destructive breath taints the words we read; its vision, seen through the creature's devilish, haunting eyes, mirrored in pap-photos in grubby celeb magazines.
Have we really been so far marred by the spite and jealousy of celebrity magazines that we can no longer appreciate and congratulate beauty of all diversity and richness?
My reason for this post comes from reading countless sickening comments written by Mr or Mrs Joe Bloggs in the section of one particular online daily newspaper; a stark reminder of just how cruel people can be about the appearances of the rich and famous. I do wonder what gives us the right to mock and ridicule others - and for the way they look?! A question that will probably forever remain elusive.
Must we hound our brains with these negative thoughts? And why burden our eyes with the cruel words of others that snap and bite at our own confidence and contentedness in ourselves? Is that what we are now?
I for one like to see wobbly bits, crooked noses and patchy skin - it’s a reminder that we're human beings and heck reminds me that I'm not the only one with these 'flaws'. We're moulded by nature into the form of humankind that by definition is far from perfect and I love that.
Of course I adore seeing a red-carpet starlet, tweaked and refined into the image of wondrous beauty (an image seemingly unattainable to us lesser mortals).
But actually, aren't we all beautiful?
Beauty to me is difference, variety and actually, something beyond mere Hollywood. Beauty can't be contained to just one flower - often it’s the whole meadow in its wonderful calm chaos which is the most attractive.
As Richard Tisci quoted in October's Vogue, 'It doesn't matter whether a person is skinny or fat, black or white. We live in the twenty-first century and it's not about blue eyes, blonde hair. I love that too, but for me it's about personality'.
And whilst that is true - isn't living in the 21st century also about embracing and challenging what we originally thought? Finding new images of which to aspire to and feeling all the more powerful and content by doing so?
So if the fashion world prides itself on such diversity, so often challenging our perceptions and exploring new visions of creative beauty, then surely it makes sense for that same astute attitude to extend to us as human beings and our physical make-up.
Often designers want to find the 'alternative' look; interesting faces swathed in interesting clothes and daring make-up. Even if pretty much all models share the similar 'perfect' figure; lithe, toned, tall and seemingly flawless bodies, I do believe fashion believes in embracing difference. Plus, I understand the need for a certain level of model uniformity.
Models are mannequins - they are captured and paraded as canvases to show off the artist's work - not a representation of human diversification and heterogeneity. Plus, there is a kind of beautiful in similarity or things that match isn't there? Our search for 'the one' often boils down to finding someone 'similar' to us; a kindred spirit.
Whatever your idea of beauty is, I'm pretty certain it will be different from mine and actually that's what makes beauty so wonderfully ambiguous and unattainable. Beauty can mean whatever you want it to mean, and for now, as I write this, beauty for me is nude skin, fluffy, just-washed hair and big, ginormous warming smiles.
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| Little pots I like lots |
