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"Beauty Culture"

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Neoteric, Aug 11, 2013.

  1. Neoteric

    Neoteric Guest

    Someone I was talking to recently brought up body image and that they no longer feel like they need to buy into "beauty culture" I personally try to walk a line between well kept and not caring other people's views and that is a line not always walked well.
    So I was wondering all your views as to how you approach this, advice, input, etc.
     
  2. Pret Allez

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    I think I understand where this is going, and I might give what will be considered by many as an insensitive answer, but I think it's ultimately correct and strikes the proper balance between acceptance of many body types while acknowledging people's desires.

    The basic idea is this: you can maintain your body however you want and satisfy your desires how you want. Others, though, have the right to do the same. Therefore, if you do not have the type of body others desire, it is unreasonable to expect that they should and to try to put the moral force of social justice theories like identity politics behind it.

    In the same breath though, I want to acknowledge that I think there is a beauty culture that's pretty normatively racist (in that whiteness is privileged as beautiful, and the norm, with black or brown people tokenized, ignored, or fetishized as exotic.) It's also pretty restrictive, in that people feel that they have to "fit the standard" to be "good enough," and the more people try to do that, the more they will by definition restrict the range of actual body types, even though more are available, and more are beautiful.

    If we did away with "the standard" or widened its scope, then people might behave more naturally. Though I don't want people to ever think that doing away with the standard or criticizing hegemonic beauty standards should be considered a license to maintain ourselves with poor health or hygiene and to demand others find it attractive.

    Ziester Adrian
     
  3. Argentwing

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    Outside of having to conform to work uniform standards etc, I do what I think looks good. Trends can get stuffed as far as I'm concerned, which has mostly worked out for me.
     
  4. justjade

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    I like to walk that line, too. I'm me, and I shouldn't be anything else, but I do need to take care of myself. I like to both look good and feel good. It's important for me to keep that balance. I pride myself in maintaining a low-maintenance appearance, but I do have a weakness for exotic, luxurious soaps, scents, and lotions though. Not sure if that counts as buying into beauty culture.
     
  5. Chip

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    A lot has been written about "beauty culture" and in particular how the media, fashion, advertising, and other big business industries have influenced (negatively) our self-perception. This has had a huge impact on shame.

    In Brené Brown's work on shame, she found the impact of "beauty culture" to be such an important contributor to shame that the practice of critical awareness (specifically, learning to become aware of media and culture and how they impact our sense of body image and self-esteem) is one of the 4 pillars of shame resilience.
     
  6. Owen

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    I'm a husky guy who wears a kilt, lets his hair grow long, has a neckbeard made of chin pubes, and who likes very chubby guys with any kind of facial hair, even if it's "unkempt". Beauty culture can sod off as far as I'm concerned.
     
  7. Hissien

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    Honestly, I just do what I do because I like it and I like looking nice, dressing up, and "taking care" of myself. It is not really for anyone else, just my own insecurities and interests I guess.
     
  8. FrostyWhiskers

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    I don't buy into the idea that beauty is a predetermined set of parameters, but rather see it as a manifestation of what would in nature be called "courtship by grooming."

    I think we're wired to perceive the apparent effort of somebodies grooming.

    I think if you were to remove the emotional bias from the situation and take somebody who is otherwise a "10" who you have never met. If your first experience of them is that they are ungroomed and completely unclothed, you will not find them as attractive as somebody who is "only a 5 or a 6" but has groomed themselves, and is wearing a thoughtfully selected assortment of clothing.

    Or again, if somebody is otherwise a "10" but clearly copied their outfit off of a fashion magazine, or dressed themselves up to look like a well known public figure, you would not find them as attractive.

    So to me beauty is more of an action than an inherent physical property.
     
  9. Northern

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    I don't really care what others think of me honestly. Whenever I dress myself it's so that I like how I look and what I feel looks good or is comfortable. If that happens to be current fashion woohoo, big deal. If not, well I feel comfortable in it so it ain't changing.
     
  10. Tightrope

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    It's everywhere, through the media, people's discussions, and all that.

    I definitely bought into this, though it was more about working out and staying fit. However, it is an aspect of beauty, I guess, because a person's exterior changes in the process.

    Some people get on that treadmill and don't even realize they're on it. It's a treadmill of sorts. It's like anything else. It's ok in moderate doses. For those for whom it becomes a cult, it's not healthy.