People have always been trying to capture the evasive nature of beauty. In most cases, these attempts usually result in creating a set of poorly coordinated measurements for body parts and facial features. As a result, a wide variety of interpretations of beauty has emerged throughout centuries. Nowadays, with numerous influences being the relics of obsolete ideas of gender and their roles of men and women in society, beauty seems to have gained a significant social power globally. Therefore, it seems that people need to subvert prejudices associated with beauty and search for uniqueness and a combination of visual and emotional appeal in appearances, instead.
The need to view beauty as a synonym to the uniqueness and, thus, to diverge from the existing standards of an appealing look is rooted in the necessity to address the current problem associated with objectification. The specified issue pertains particularly to the harm caused to women and girls, although the phenomenon of objectification may affect any gender for which the society may establish unreasonably high expectations. Indeed, in the past, beauty used to be an exception, yet now it is a norm, hence the increasing pressure on women and girls worldwide.
The philosophy of uniqueness as the most direct manifestation of beauty might be seen as somewhat unusual since it does not allow introducing the image of a physically perfect male or female person. Indeed, the specified approach toward looking at the idea of a visual appeal deprives the concept of beauty of its harmful connotations that it has gained over the years of its existence. A closer look at the idea of beauty will reveal that it can, in fact, be not only harmful but also detrimental to the development of gender equality and social acceptance.
Indeed, by focusing solely on appearance and creating exaggerated standards for it, one is likely to cause major problems in people’s perception of themselves. With biological attractiveness currently being more valued in regards to female appearance, when taken to its extreme, it may entail depreciation issues in women, leading to serious psychological issues. The failure to comply with the existing standards may result in highly traumatic experiences caused by the fear of being socially ostracized.
Moreover, one should mention the fact that beauty provides one with extensive privileges that might not necessarily be earned. By setting a specific standard for beauty as the measurement of one’s appearance, one creates a drastic rise in social injustice since vulnerable groups, which currently include primarily women, are judged on the merits of their physical attractiveness and not their personal or professional characteristics. Herein lies the significance of using the proposed philosophy of beauty as an individual concept. By stressing the fact that everyone can be beautiful, one will assist in creating an environment where the objectification of any group will no longer be in existence.
Because of the power that prejudices regarding beauty have on the global society and the relationships between people of different gender, it is critical to introduce the philosophy that views beauty as the manifestation of one’s uniqueness. In order to refrain from the current tendency to judge people by their appearance and subject the ones that do not conform to the perceived norm to social ostracism, one has to introduce the idea of uniqueness as the basis for beauty. Individuality needs to be embraced in order to change the current status quo.