Beauty and Culture
Beauty is often defined as a mental and physical state that makes these objects aesthetically pleasing to see. Such objects could include sunsets, landscapes, humans and exquisite works of artistic art. Beauty, with art and beauty, is still the most important theme of aesthetics, among the many branches of anthropology, one of the most important branches of science. In aesthetic terms, beauty is a state of fullness, completeness, the summation or integration of all the qualities of the self, others and things.
The word beauty comes from the Greek word ‘gosse’ that means beautiful. For some time, even non-gosseists used the term to mean what they found beautiful in everything including architecture, fashion, music, literature and film. Nowadays, however, the beauty has become increasingly associated with the social media. Beauty can also be defined as the pleasing effect, one feels upon being in a setting, atmosphere or location that is deemed aesthetically pleasing. This definition matches perfectly with the concept of beauties in social media, which refers to those who post pictures and videos of themselves in a flattering pose.
However, beauty is often used in advertising and marketing too. Beauty is often used as a lure in order to get people’s attention or get them to buy a product or service. As an example, beauty is often used in movies, television shows and commercials as the allure that makes people want to visit a certain place. Similarly, in music, certain types of songs are often played as advertisements and beauty in music is considered appealing for some reason or the other.
According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, beauty is the mental quality that one feels towards another, in agreement with his or her sex. Beauty is also considered to be a sense of satisfaction, liking, desirability, worth, respect, etc. Beauty has often been used as a criterion for classifying people into different classes – such as beautiful, handsome, ugly, or smart. Beauty is not only subjective; it is also a highly measurable and scientifically proven phenomenon.
In marketing strategy, beauty is often used to attract customers or consumers. For instance, beauty is one of the main aspects that is used in advertising. A female model might be used in an advertisement along with the words “skinny” or “athletic”, and “beautiful”. A male model might also be pictured wearing the words “athletic” and “fit” on his body and “sexy”. Sports people, such as professional athletes, are often pictured as physically fit and beautiful.
The beauty standards described above are not exclusive to the European and Asian cultures. Beauty standards are also prevalent in the US, in terms of cultural norms and individual personality. These beauty standards vary from person to person, as every culture has its own definition of beauty. Beauty ideals can therefore be seen in various manifestations in everyday life, ranging from the most visible of social standards to the least noticed of cultural ideals. It would be safe to conclude that beauty is not a uniform quality among all cultures, and therefore varies across cultures.