A lot of factors determine the physical (eyes, hair, body, etc.

) and non-physical characteristics (confidence, intelligence, occupation, etc.) to which well be attracted, including society, family, friends, our culture, held beliefs, environment, etc., etc. Because these determinants are dynamic, and shift and change over time, we all have different definitions of attractive - and those definitions evolve over time. Attraction is therefore very subjective. Beauty is a whole different cup of tea. Each of us is beautiful simply because we exist. We are beautiful because we are human beings. We are beautiful because we are a facets of this incredible universe. We are beautiful in all our many shapes, colors and sizes. We are beautiful because we are expressions of existence. In my life, I have met many people. And not a single one of them was any more (or any less) beautiful than you. As you go about your life today, know that your beauty will light up my life like a thousand suns. Just as it always has and just as it always will.

Female beauty as described in this article is often an illusion that's a big effort to sustain. The shell of the perfect woman is stressful and expensive to maintain; the contest is to see who does it best and the standards are impossibly high. For example the ideal beauty described above is "thin", is not obviously muscular or strong, her body's contours meet a fairly precise technical specification for softness and curvature while containing only the minimum amount of fat and flesh necessary. There is a whole industry built on taking the fat and flesh off women's bones in order to meet these demanding standards. The ideal beauty has shiny, glossy hair, and lots of it - but only on her head, of course! Leg hair, underarm hair, any visible hairiness, even on the forearms but especially on the face - it all has to go. Every day millions of women visit salons to have their scalp hair styled and treated, and other hair removed from their bodies, often painfully. The perfect beauty is white. She should have clear soft skin, without marks of age or character. She has child like face with large eyes, full red lips, a small delicate nose, a face wide at the temples and narrow at the jaw, a

dainty neck, ... . Every day several billions women spend considerable time skilfully applying some form of cosmetics to modify the appearance of their face, and every year several millions seek more permanent surgical assistance. The price that many women choose to pay in the hope of being considered beautiful (by both men and other women ) is high in every way.

Is the animal kingdom if physical beauty were a concept, it would perhaps be a yard stick to measure the survival capacity of a particular animal, which would consequently act as a shorthand for the other gender to know conclude genetic superiority and a consequently a progeny with a better chance of survival. In certain creatures like birds, this concept is largely left to the male of the gender to exhibit its glorious side. In human beings this concept has undergone a lot of twists and turns, a consequence of long lasting social changes. From being a mere yard stick of measuring health, physical beauty has become a social tool to take and shape an individuals thinking to suit the groups idea. What is interesting is the burden it seems to put on the female of our species, to force conformity, and consequently better the chance of mating. It would be logical to assume that in a given population, if the number of males are greater than female, then the this burden of displaying good health and beauty would fall on the male of the species, because, this gives the female more diversity and choice in mating, leaving the male to chip the shoulder, and exhibit their exalted genes. But economic dependence that a patriarchal society has imposed on the feminine gender has put a clog in the wheel. It is the female of the human species that seems to take the concept of beauty from the mundanely of a mating ritual, to a ridiculous form of self torture. While I watch fascinated as the male of some species go to great length to attract the attention of the female, even at the cost of its life, in the case of the praying mantis. I do wonder, why the so called intelligent species, still persists in this animal behavior. Take the small feet fashion trend that china went through. It is really amazing that women were ready to spend all their lives practically deformed for the security of mating rich. It required the Iron hand of communism to actually force a change. Reading Richard Darwkins selfish gene had (I thought) reinforced in me the concept that nature ensures that the best gene survives, but how is it that health is thrown away at the cost of beauty in the mating ritual, or have I missed a point and should jump to the conclusion that beauty is actually a test of endurance and thus a criteria for survival. Look at the test of beauty in todays women. It shows all signs of medieval torture that women accept and sometimes cant live without. We pluck body hair, use chemicals without a consequence to the effect it has on our body, and that of our children. We delude ourselves into believing that walking of the tips of our feet, in shoes that are impractical is a sign of beauty. We are ready to lie unconscious under a strangers knife, in the hope that it would change the

direction of our lives. Beauty is no more a mating ritual, but a requirement of economic ritual. It is no more limited to women. Men too have fallen prey to a social norm of defined beauty. It can range from plucking body hair in some places to planting them in some. Then there are companies and products, which cater to these norms of beauty. They can make you fair if you want to, or darken you skin tone. There are some that encourage hair removal, and some that will implant them for you. As I think of this while busy gardening, I sometimes feel that we molest our bodies just a mercilessly as we rape the earth. Sometimes we wake up and point fingers at the products and companies that are opportunistic in selling us these beauty products, but shouldnt we not wake up instead and point fingers at ourselves, and dictate our own terms of beauty, which hopefully does not involve discomfort?

Once again, a woman is valued for something over which she is a mere victim of heredity; I would expect something better than this from a commercial where a woman is taking a "more active" role! After all of these years, advertisers have shown women in almost every mode possible: domesticated, happy housewife, brainless beauty, and the "free" woman, with her job, her husband, and her family after which she looks. It amazes me, though, that after all of these stereotypes, advertisers have yet to consistently come up with a realistic woman that will leave no hang-ups or illuminate unnecessary insecurities. Simply stated, advertisements today create a standard of physical beauty that is unattainable for both men and women. Sadly, young women reaching adolescence are hit the hardest with these subliminal messages. Until people realize that the physical appearances seen in magazines and on television are completely out of anyone's reach, we will all continue to strive with a false sense of hope.

Everyone has heard the argument that a training in Latin and Greek, however irrelevant to real life, is an excellent 'training for the mind'. How much better for that purpose might be a training in the appreciation of beauty, if, as I've argued, our love of beauty has a hundred million years of educational psychology behind it. Let me finish then on a more positive note. Beauty may be an 'illusion'. But, for all that, Keats was not so wrong in his claim that "beauty is truth, truth beauty". That may not be "all ye know on Earth, and all ye need to know", but it is at least a good beginning

Falsul este esential pentru orice fiinta. Frumusetea este doar o iluzie. Cei care vand aceasta iluzie sunt adevarati falsificatori. Dupa parerea mea fara iluzii am avea o lume mult mai urata

geniul e mai trainic decat frumusetea. when facing real life facts your looks don't really count. What matters is how are yu able to use your head to find a solution. what may seem beautiful to some can be average for others. Therefore a perfect definition for beauty doesn't exist. different people see different kinds of beauty