Perception of Female Beauty

All of us have different notions of beauty and as women we try to live up to that. We, women aren't happy with our complexions and therefore we are responsible for the huge fairness creams market or the tanning lotion market. Shampoo advertisements show that women get long, flowing, billowing hair after using their unique shampoo. The lip balm, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, kohl, lip liner, eye shadow industries are booming because of us.

A female is considered beautiful if
1. She has long, flowing hair
2. She is fair
3. She has a curvy figure but is thin at the same time
4. She has expressive eyes and sensuous lips
5. Soft -spoken
and you can add your own perceptions to this list.

Apart from this women are required to shave/ wax regularly. They also have to smell feminine i.e. use gentle perfumes and deodorants which smell of flowers or fruits or something of this sort. Beautiful women in general, are considered as objects which can be possessed after marriage. Marriage is comparable to a money transaction.

As Maya Angelou once said: (excerpt from the poem- Phenomenal Woman)

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Maya Angelou celebrates the fact that women are women and what qualities make them phenomenal. It's not a woman's figure but her confidence, inner beauty and the way she perceives the world which makes her stand out.

Women shouldn't be considered beautiful just because of their bodies. I once got a really good answer when I asked what a guy looks for in a girl -beauty or brains. And the answer was only her 'heart'. If everyone has this attitude it would be so great for the world.

Earlier the perception of beauty was healthy women with full figures. But we live in a constantly changing and progressive world. Whenever trends change, the new trend is usually an opposite of what existed before. Nowadays, size zero women are considered beautiful. It is all over the news. People look up to movie actresses as their role models and when they see super skinny stick figures, they also want to be like them. But we also must realize that it is not in the genetic women of some omen to be size zero. I'm not generalizing everything by these statements. Exceptions do exist.

Then

        

painting by Peter Paul Rubens                              Painting by Raja Ravi Verma
- a Baroque painter

and Now

      

photo courtesy: www.pixabay.com

The thing is, dusky/ dark women are as beautiful. Their smile is as charming as fair women if not more. Also we must realize that we look as we do because of our genes and we can't really help it. Showing your face as it is is better than hiding behind make- up. But don't take me wrong. Make -up isn't bad if you like it and feel more confident wearing it. We, women shouldn't dress to attract guys. We should dress to please ourselves and be comfortable with how we look. That is beauty.