Theme on beauty: objective beauty, the perception of beauty, the myth of absolute beauty and reflection.
In contemporary society, the myth of absolute beauty has taken hold, even among young people, supported and imposed by plastic surgery and the thousand discoveries of modern technology and scientific research (fitness centers equipped with ever-new instruments and machines, cosmetic products, etc.). How do you explain this phenomenon? Critically address the problem. Below is the essay written by a student on beauty.
ESSAY ON BEAUTY
In today’s society, form is considered more important than content , at least as far as physical appearance is concerned: a beautiful and efficient body is more important than an intelligent, cultured and educated mind; the way a person dresses and appears is taken into consideration more than his ideas and intrinsic qualities.
Today the cult of one’s body is often reaching exaggerated levels, precisely because the context in which we live requires that each individual be the best image of himself, thus explaining the proliferation of dieticians, gyms, beauty centers and plastic surgery, because the watchword is: be thin and beautiful. So for example, giving up the pleasant taste of an ice cream in the summer and a hot chocolate with cream in the winter; consequently many foods are banned from our tables because they are rich in calories, fats and sugars; yet, without abusing them, it is important that our diet also makes use of these foods because in the right measure they are useful for our health.
THE MYTH OF BEAUTY
The myth of absolute beauty is imposed on people today through the mass media: at any time of the day, on television we can see advertisements that urge us to buy “miraculous” creams that can transform the wrinkled face of a fifty-year-old into the velvety face of a twenty-year-old overnight, creams for those with cellulite problems, or even shampoos and anti-hair loss vials that deceive men who are prone to baldness. It is not only advertisements that bombard us with these prodigious solutions, but also the programs themselves do their part: how many times have we watched programs where out of a hundred girls in the competition, only one, through selections, manages to win the title of miss thanks to her beauty? Many times we have seen fashion shows where only statuesque and often very thin beauties show off their appearance, or even programs where the protagonist is a person who has a way of dressing that is not in keeping with her figure, who is taught, by two fashion specialists, the secrets to properly show off expensive and refined clothes, capable of highlighting her strong points.
THEME ON BEAUTY IN ART
Today this myth, in addition to the mass media and magazines, where last minute diets are suggested for those who are late with the swimsuit test, is exposed in any volume of art history. Since ancient times, in fact, beauty has been measured on the basis of an aesthetic model of reference , characterized by ideal physical proportions.
REFLECTION ON BEAUTY
I consider myself one of those people who cannot understand why one must always have the obsessive mania of taking care of every part of one’s body in the smallest details, to make it similar to the perfect body of a model, a movie or television “star” or, again, to make it compatible with the latest fashion trends, it really seems to me an exaggeration against nature.
In my opinion, we must learn to accept ourselves as we are, to appreciate ourselves and be appreciated by others for the qualities we have, without spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on “facelifts”, make-up, diet products and beauty clinics. All these exaggerations are capable of putting our lives at risk, often leading us to suffer from pathologies, such as anorexia, which weigh on our health, so I think they should be condemned.
