Beauty Post #2

I recognize that I live in a relatively sheltered, Christian environment and am often out of touch with society. However, from what I've heard of songs and discussions on the local Christian radio station, and from the little I know of public school, it seems that one problem in teen culture today is a lack of self-esteem among girls due to America's media and advertising. A sub-conscious standard for beauty is set by models that cannot be reached. Admittedly, none of the young ladies I know seem to outwardly struggle with this. That could be because my acquaintances are generally Christian or that this is not actually an issue in culture or that it is an issue and is simply not apparent to me.

If it is an issue, I must say (hopefully not insensitively) that I find it ironic that the pinnacle of beauty in God's earthly creation deals with the issue of feeling inadequately beautiful. On the other hand, it makes sense: a violinist who listens to a brilliant virtuoso will be far more disappointed in his own skill than someone who has never played a line of music and listens to that same musician. So I set about to prove the universal beauty of God's second human creation. I thought it would be one of the easiest proofs I had ever attempted, but it turned out to be more difficult than I thought because of the intangible nature of beauty. It is something of which we have an innate understanding, being made in the image of God, but it is difficult to define.

Anyway, let me begin with the three main responses I had previously heard to this cultural problem. I see none of these as logically adequate (though, of course, they may be more in touch with ladies and therefore, convincing, I wouldn't know.)

1. Everyone is made in the image of God and people are therefore the closest thing we have to a standard for beauty.

2. Pictures of supermodels are photoshopped and are pictures of an elite group of women, not a standard for the average person.

3. Many Christian singers have used arguments #1 and #2 and argued that outward beauty doesn't matter because the quality of a woman ought to be in her heart and character. Basically, “you may not be beautiful, but that's OK because quality of character is the important thing.” (Certainly, character is more important than beauty, but in this post, I am arguing that ladies are already beautiful.)
i.e. Crazy Beautiful by Chasen
Don't You Know You're Beautiful by Seabird
Beauty by Ayiesha Woods
So Beautiful and Courage by Superchick
Image by Barlow Girl
Beautiful Disaster by Jon Mclaughlin
to name a few.

These arguments seem to fall short either in remaining out of touch (but how would I know?) or in assuming a lack of physical beauty in the lady. The songs I listed are, in general, excellent songs, but I would take their message a step further to say that beauty does matter and that all women are characterized by it.

I am arguing that beauty is an essential quality of women, that is, beauty is part of their essence. Some say that beauty is like any other gift: some have musical talent, some have leadership skills, some have beauty. I would say that beauty is a necessary part of being a lady.

The great 18-19th century author, Sir Walter Scott, referred to women in passing as “the fair sex” (in Ivanhoe.) He was not trying to state something about the beauty of women, 'fair' was simply a defining characteristic of women to him. In fact, “the fair (or beautiful) sex” seems to have been a sort of cliché of Scott's time. Immanuel Kant and Alexander Pope are merely a couple other famous authors who used this phrase. 'Ugly lady' would have been an oxymoron to these men. In Jane Austen's time, ladies at the bottom of the 'beauty scale' (for lack of a better way of putting it) were never called 'ugly' (nor are they today) but 'plain', that is, average. Any words denoting lack of beauty are unfitting for those women, so we have to call them the average. The only ugly women are fairy tale witches.

The 'scale' doesn't go from 'ugly' to 'beautiful', in fact, our culture's vocabulary has proved that it goes from 'average/plain' to 'drop-dead gorgeous'. English doesn't even have a word to describe the top end of the 'scale', so society had to invent this extreme phrase to describe the kind of extreme beauty that can be seen in some ladies. 'Drop-dead' reminds one of the kind of awe-inspiring splendor the angels invoked in Bible characters.

It is not that some have this incredible beauty and some don't, rather, all have this kind of beauty to varying degrees. It is part of how God made women. In Aristotelean terms, beauty is not an accidental quality but an essential one. That is, beauty is not an outward superfluous characteristic but part of a lady's essence.

At this point, you might ask, “What about elderly ladies? Can you really make a broad generalization for all women?” Certainly, I won't deny that the fall has somewhat corrupted this essence of perfection, but evil cannot destroy anything good or create ugliness, only pervert perfection. The essence of beauty is still present in all women. Again, women are the pinnacle of beauty in God's earthly creation since they are made in his image, and are clearly more beautiful than men (I don't need any proofs of that, do I?)

Secondly, we are so used to seeing immeasurable beauty in our everyday acquaintances that we have lost our child-like wonder at it and our awareness of other beauty. This can even lead us to question the beauty of those whose beauty has faded. Just as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance recognized Ruth as beautiful until he met a young lass, we should not lose our appreciation for all beauty, even though there is greater beauty in someone else. Seeing the Sistine Chapel is no reason to stop enjoying the brilliance of watercolors. All ladies bear the mark of a Creator who loves and bestows beauty.


This is not as rigorous a proof as I would like it to be, it's more an amalgamation of ideas; I am somewhat relying on your intuition and experience to provide a foundation for my arguments.

One final note: Not being a lady, I cannot fully understand the issues I have addressed and could be more out of touch than a penguin in the Sahara. But perhaps, not having to face these issues gives me an objective, outside insight into it. I hope my thoughts have at least been fodder for the brain (to avoid a well-worn cliché).


And now for a poem. You know I couldn't write a logical essay on beauty and not write a poem on it. :)

Pulchritudo Feminae 4/15/10
How many a poet has turned his hand to tell of one he loves.
Using phrases oft' reused of hair or turtledoves.
Of streaming locks and shining face that far transcend this earth
Which give to him, in simple words, a sort of second birth.

And each man writes his lines to her in earnest from his heart.
Yet millions of these verses are a foretaste of the start.
For exhaustion of this topic can never be attained,
As the beauty of a lady's face can never be explained.

As words pour forth which sound cliche and others will repeat,
It merely shows that words can only reach defeat.

If a lady chance to read this, pray, despair not in your looks,
For your beauty can't be captured in a kingdom full of books.
And to members of the coarser sex, pray, carry on the fight,
And try to tell what can't be told till it be told aright.