The Vanity in Defining Beauty

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When flipping though the the glossy pages of a magazine it’s easy to notice similar attributes possessed by the models. These include long healthy hair, straight white teeth, high cheek bones, slender bodies and delicate feminine features. One would assume that that these traits are common characteristics of beauty and universally recognized, but that assumption would be wrong. Take China for example, the cultural norm for beauty is incredibly diverse to America’s. Plump round bodies and cherub like faces are traits of the most desirable Chinese belle. So what is beauty? The answer all depends on what region, culture or even decade in history you’re referring to. Beauty does exist within a societal scope and includes some common attributes, but should you attempt to define beauty as a universal whole your efforts would be in vain.

Regionally speaking; definitions of beauty extend endlessly. For example take the photos of Iconic american beauty Marilyn Monroe and the unnamed swahili women provided in Brassil. As you can see much of Monroe’s beauty is actually sex appeal. From her l...

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