The Eye Of The Beholder: An Understanding of Beauty

Beautiful women. They have one thing in common – they drive men crazy. Old, young, middle-aged, gainfully employed, loafer, clergy, dreamer, tall, short, ugly, drop-dead good-looking, wealthy, pauper; name them. The list is endless. Since Eve, beautiful women have decided the fate of men. And great men have fallen, risen and fallen again, as these wondrous creatures have deemed fit. No man is immune to this sacred sub-species of the human race.

REACTION/RESPONSE

When they appear in any location, they elicit different reactions. This on its own is worth writing a thesis on. Ordinary, plain women have different reactions from men. It’s a very interesting activity to watch a beautiful woman enter a room filled with people.

There is the ‘Oh my God!’ look written all over some brothers’ faces when she walks in. That look is one of wonder and awe. Only inexperienced guys do this. They betray their emotion so blatantly, they give themselves away. Even worse, the greenest ones do so with mouths agape. They’re dumbstruck, and that’s dumb.

The Male Perspective On Beauty

Men love to regard their women as the gossips, who have nothing else to talk about but men. But time has proven true that men actually ‘gist’ about women as much as women ‘gist’ about men. When it comes to the matter of beauty, the discussion gets into a different realm; where men argue passionately about who is beautiful and who is not. Someone said beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The question, however, remains: if something, or in this context, a woman, is beautiful, truly beautiful, shouldn’t the whole universe agree?

Men and Their Opinions On Beauty

What does the average person think about a beautiful woman? Okay, now this guy thinks this woman is truly beautiful. What kind of person does he think she is? It is funny, but true, that beauty puts a mask on its possessor’s face.

I once heard a guy say,”I just love to be around beautiful girls. They have a way of thinking that appeals to me”. In other words, he’s saying: “These people, because of their looks, think differently than ordinary people do.” How true is that?

And there’s Richard, who says he will never tie the knot with a beautiful woman. Why? I asked him. His answer, “I will not have peace of mind. The competition from guys outside will be too much for me, and I am a jealous man.”

Charles, like Richard, cannot get hooked to a beautiful woman for life. Albeit for a different reason. You see, Charles is a money-man; an investor. He just couldn’t spend unnecessarily on her beauty needs which will be ‘enormous’. “Why would I spend so much money on the ephemeral? It’s not like she will be beautiful forever,” He chuckles disdainfully, then continues, with a real smile of pleasure this time, “investment on the other hand will last generations, if handled by me.”

Yet, there are men who would rather die unmarried than have it any other way. Different strokes for different folks indeed.

The PROs and CONs of Being Beautiful:

Are there any privileges attached to being beautiful? Judging from the proliferation of beauty products on the market, especially toning creams and the like, one can safely say that many people want to increase their visual appeal. This indicates that something can indeed be gained from looking good. As odd as it may sound too, it ought to have disadvantages too, right? It’s only natural that nothing is perfect. Therefore, whatever has a good side must have a bad side. Like Soren Kierkegaard and his existentialist colleagues proposed, nothing is of its own good or evil. What you get is what you make of it. So, guys, what evils have you made out of beauty?

“Ah,” Sunday, a not-too-good-looking plumber who once had a beautiful girlfriend exclaimed. “It makes them proud. At some point, she felt she was too beautiful for me and left. I was shattered, but I moved on.”

“Look, they are just too expensive and most times greedy. They always want this and that. They want everything every time. It’s crazy, like they think they are some goddesses that need to be appeased all the time. It drives me crazy. And when you can’t get them anything, they sulk, or nag you to death, or both. That’s why I see them as toys.” That was Tony the playboy. For him, “loving a beautiful woman is just too much hard work” so he just plays with them. What do you think of Tony now?

“I’m scared of them,” Eddie, a little man in his late thirties said. “I just can’t trust them. They’re naturally promiscuous. You know, it’s like it’s wired into their DNA.” How cruel is that?

But What Do They Think?

Have you met a beautiful woman who had no idea that she possessed the gift, the ‘magic wand’? It seems these fairies have varying levels of awareness to their gift. Some even require a good deal of convincing before the realisation comes, and some begin to doubt after some time. And what do they think of it? Pride? Opportunity? Chance? Modesty? Gratitude? (Add yours to the list). The last time you said, “you are really beautiful”, to a woman who deserved it, what was the response? Was it a practised ‘thank you’, or gratitude that was giggly and pleasure-filled?

What does physical beauty mean to you?