Beauty is a such a deep word, that is it is often difficult to define. However, to put in simple terms, beauty is when the appearance of someone or something stimulates a pleasant and happy feeling in someone or people. Beauty is relative and has been described by various people. Beauty is what individuals take it to be.  Many factors influence the way people see beauty. This includes:

Environment

The way people perceive beauty is most times shaped by the environment they come from. For example, in the western world, a woman is perceived to be beautiful when she has a flat tummy, and a slender fit, however in Africa, the big sized women are more appreciated. In other words, people’s culture largely defines what they perceive as beautiful or ugly.

Personal Preference

Another perspective to look at beauty is that of the individual. People like different things, and what might be beautiful to a Person A, might not necessarily appeal to a Person B. As the popular saying goes “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”

There are two kinds of beauty. There is the

Human Beauty

Characterizing a person as beautiful or not is dependent on two factors, just like as stated above. The factors are personal and society. As said earlier “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” People have what appeals to them. For example, some girls like their men tall, with big biceps and broad chest, while some females just prefer a moderate height man with no conspicuous musculature. Also, some men like their ladies to be tall and blonde, on the other hand, some other men like short girls, with a beautiful face. It’d always be a case of different strokes for different folks

Society

The society has a standard to which it defines beauty. This is evident in the fashion shows. The popular trend over the years has been that; tall and slender girls are the beautiful ones. Not to say the short and chubby ladies are not beautiful, but this is the society’s definition of beauty. Some ladies even go as far as starving themselves so that they can fit into this category. However, there have been some changes in the fashion world lately, due to the extent to which people stretch themselves so that they can be accepted. There are now fashion shows that include plus-sized models. Also, even people with facial freckles and vitiligo are now paraded as fashion models. The world is gradually embracing an all-inclusive concept of beauty. Everyone is beautiful, the skin tone, height or size does not matter. The general idea is to be fit and healthy.

Non-Human Beauty

This is the kind of beauty that is accorded to animals and non-living things. This beauty is subjective to whoever is looking. For inanimate objects, the lines, colors, and shades are what appeals to us, while for animals like dogs, cats, and other pets, it’s largely how they make us feel.

Even though it’s nice to be outwardly beautiful, there is another kind of beauty that is equally important. This is the inner beauty.

What Is Inner Beauty

Inner beauty is more important than facial beauty. An individual can be the most beautiful person in the world but have a bad personality. Inner beauty is one’s true beauty, and this includes good attitude, kindness, good mental strength, dignity, honesty, selflessness and so on. True beauty is essentially how beautiful one’s soul is. Beauty radiates from inside, and this is what people feel. The outer beauty is just the icing on the cake; it’s just additional.

Inner Beauty Versus Outer Beauty

The outer beauty is what the person looks like. The structure, height, facial and body structure of the person. This is what attracts people to each other. The standard of outer beauty isn’t constant; it has consistently changed over the years. As an illustration, decades ago in Europe, the standard of a beautiful woman is a bit of the plus size and moderate height. However, in recent decades, this standard of beauty has changed. The standard for beautiful girls, especially in the fashion world is to be over 6 feet tall, and slender size. On the other hand, tall, muscular men with facial hairs are the standard of beauty. This ever-changing standard of outer beauty shows how trivial outer beauty.

Inner beauty. Inner beauty is one’s true beauty, and this includes good attitude, kindness, good mental strength, dignity, honesty, selflessness and so on. True beauty is essentially how beautiful one’s soul is. Beauty radiates from inside, and this is what people feel. The outer beauty is just the icing on the cake; it’s just additional.

It’s quite ironic that people often do get carried away with the outer beauty, and focus less on the inner one, which is more important. This can probably be partially attributed to the high rates of divorce in families. People care less about the inner beauty of their partners, which is way more important. Outer beauty cannot last forever, in addition to this, it fades. Furthermore, just like most things, there would always be someone who is more handsome, or more beautiful than you. This further proves that, even though it’s important to look nice and beautiful, it’s more important to have inner beauty.

Inner Beauty Quotes To Inspire Your Soulmate

“The pretty ones are not always good, but good people are always beautiful.”

“The pretty face eventually fades, but a good heart keeps you pretty forever.”

The Beauty of the Heart

The beauty of the heart is essentially the inner beauty. The beauty of your soul should radiate outwards so that people can perceive it. It’s possible to be the prettiest person in the world, but have a soul that is anything but beautiful. The beauty of the heart is what remains when the outer beauty fades.  It’s your attitude to others, how caring you are, kindness, good mental strength, dignity, honesty, selflessness and so on.

 

References

Darbyshire, K. (2016). Inner Beauty. STEAM, 2(2), pp.1-4.

HuffPost UK. (2017). What Is Beauty? And What’s Your Definition of Your Beauty?. [online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/segun-garubaokelarin/what-is-beauty-_b_9820142.html [Accessed 16 Dec. 2017].

Pogontseva, D. (2014). IDEAS OF YOUTH ABOUT OUTER AND INNER BEAUTY OF WOMEN. GISAP:Psychological Sciences, (4).

Smith, B. (2013). Inner beauty. New Scientist, 218(2922), p.31.