What is Beautiful

Oprah recently had Jessica Simpson on her show to discuss beauty around the world. On a past Oprah show journalist, Mara Schiavocampo,  also toured the world to report about what is considered beautiful around the globe.   I have always found it very interesting to learn about other cultures and was surprised by some of Mara's revelations.  In Japan, skin is extremely important.  The ideal skin is porcelain and smooth.  Women drink collagen and eat collagen-infused food and some even go to the extent of using a powder made of bird droppings on their skin.  On the border of Berma & Thailand, there is a tribe that wears shiny brass rings high on their necks.  Beginning at age 5 they have rings added to their necks each year.  As a child, I remember seeing photos in National Geographic Magazine of these women.  To have a giraffe like neck is considered beautiful.  Iran is considered the nose job capital of the world.  According to Mara, they perform 60,000 a year and it is considered a status symbol.  They wear bandages on their noses with pride.  In the west African country of Mauritani the men are expected to be skinny and women are overweight.  Men love stretch marks and big butts.  Women are also the boss in the household.  I have a feeling Mauritania's population has increased ten fold since this show aired back in 2009.

In my opinion, a lot of Americans feel that tall, thin, blonde and big breasts is beautiful.  I think I just described Barbie.  Companies like Dove and Hanes are attempting to use real women who are just as beautiful and come in all shapes and sizes in their advertising.  Like most people I tend to notice a persons outward beauty first.  It could be their shiny black hair, the perfect pearly white smile, or the beautiful color of their eyes that catches my attention.  However,  at the end of the day if there is nothing appealing on the inside of that person it doesn't matter how handsome or beautiful they are.  I feel beauty can be an advantage to opening doors in life when it comes to jobs and relationships, but it takes a certain amount of inward beauty to sustain them.   There are people I wouldn't necessarily consider physically attractive but, their inner beauty makes them attractive.  Qualities like charm, a sense of humor and kindness make them appealing.

One of the great things about America is that we are a melting pot of people who come in different shapes, sizes and colors.  We all need to decide for ourselves what is beautiful and not let society dictate it for us.

"Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.  It is what we tell ourselves it is." - Oprah