Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Beauty

Beauty...what is it?

Some say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, what is beautiful for one person may not necessarily be true for another. Some say, beauty is very subjective and I supposed guys and girls view beauty rather differently in certain aspects. How then does one measure beauty?

Malaysia is currently in search of Malaysia's Most Beautiful, a new tv reality show aired on 8TV every Thursday 9.30pm. I watched the first episode and I saw a friend of mine - one of the finalists but unfortunately, she was one of the 3 to be eliminated on that episode itself. Due to the fact that I know her, although not very well, my heart goes out for her as I know she's a smart and nice person. She's an indian lawyer, by the way.

I just felt it is utter crap to search for the most beautiful person to represent Malaysia when most of the time, what I saw in these girls are materialism, glamour and a misuse of their physical beauty, for some. There is only one girl whom I favour out of the whole bunch and I sincerely hopes, she make it. Not just attaining the title of Malaysia's Most Beautiful but, not losing that beauty of hers when she first entered the contest. There are some who can be swept away by the waves of stardom and fame and transformed into a different person. What I don't understand is to put oneself on a pedestal for judgement by the whole country and having to justify oneself when the judges criticises you, is it worth to be beautiful this way? Then always having to live up to that expectation when one has attained the title?

Is there such a person that is caring, kind, forgiving, pretty, selfless, smart and sincere ALL at the same time? What is your definition of beauty?
Do share your thoughts...


(for those who are curious why I posted her picture in this entry, read comments and visit this site)
  • Elisabeth Elliot
  • 12 comments:

    kiawin said...

    oh? sapa tu?

    Leon Jackson said...

    http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2002/11/17/stories/2002111700560100.htm

    Interesting external perspective.

    Leon Jackson said...

    Hey, if you come up with a really good answer to these questions, let me know;
    1. if beauty is internal and not external, how do we deal with men (whom even the best of them) are so affected by the external beauty of a woman? I think Christians get this part wrong, as human beings, we will always be a affected by the external but God’s evaluation of beauty is internal. That’s how I see the Peter text on beauty, as telling women to make God’s measure the ultimate goal.
    2. if beauty is totally relative and has no element of objectivity to it, how do we have beauty pageants? Some argue that popular constructs of beauty tyrannize and brainwash us, but could, the current beauties we elevate as our chosen best be also the reflection of our preference at that time? I suspect we are brainwashed while, also, there are elements that make the Angelina Jolie so attractive to many of us guys, yet, 200 years ago, a man would have said she was too skinny. So there are social, ethnic, cultural, chronological elements that converge into our preferences, yet, we are also being brainwashed? I have no answer, only good questions
    3. how do we answer women like http://carpetstains.blogspot.com/ ?
    4. while I have these questions, I also have seen the obsession of our generation with external feminine beauty destroy many ladies lives and make them slaves to our male preferences and make many of us men, treat women as mere objects of desire and not people made in the image of God. This generation has so much adoration for beautiful women, and yet, we have the most pornography, violence to women, women sex slaves in the global flesh trade and we cant get along with ladies at work – why? Because all our over sexualized views of women are preventing us from treating them as true equal human beings, made in the image of God.
    I would like feedback from a woman on this issue.

    enn@j said...

    jacksons,

    I'll try my best to give my views la...

    1. First of all, I don't think beauty is only internal and not external. I think its both but our society of image driven has focused so much on the external that the internal has been shadowed. But I believe God has already said that although man looked at the outward appearance, He looks at the heart. IMHO, that doesnt mean He doesnt acknowledge that external beauty is beauty but merely remind / warn us to place more importance in our internal beauty. Man who drooled over a women's external beauty is a pervery I must say for we do not know what goes on in his mind, it may not just be the beauty but other lustful thoughts. Its ok to appreciate anything beautiful but to become obsessed by it, that's just too much la

    2. Definately each culture measure beauty differently but I think in all cultures, past or present...they all agree in one type of beauty, the internal beauty. Beauty pageants are judged by man made rules, so that can change anytime acoording to likings ;)

    3. Carpetstains...being a normal woman, faces normal pressures esp when mixed with people who encourages her on. Bible also warns bad company corrupts good morals. I hope she finds someone who will help her see the good qualities she has and show her there is another world that sees beauty differently

    4. I believe our minds have been shaped a lot by the media today. Being in the industry myself, I sometimes feel the pressure of image and to be honest, we play a lot with the physchology side of consumers to shape their thinking. Sad to say, many ladies out there have lost the value of their own beauty by wanting to look or dress or behave like a certain celebrity they adore...and some may think porn is art, which is crap!

    Again I must say, all this corruption of beauty is not new as the bible has talked about it centuries ago. What happened to mighty king like David? He lusted and fell. Therefore, God has warn us to be careful and come back to what pleases Him most, a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. I believe one who is internally beautiful will know how to take care of their appearances. They don't have to be superbly beautiful but as long as they are presentable in apperances and they are confident not in themselves but of their identity in Christ. As for man, if they see women as precious in God's sight, they will also honor women in reverence to God

    I suppose there is a certain shine that cosmetic cannot produce and I've come across certain women who has that. One is Elisabeth Elliot, her writings made me see how beautiful a woman can be. Her pic, although she has aged but there's just a certain 'beauty' in her smile.

    I supposed we could always ask, what matters more at 50?

    Leon Jackson said...

    Wow! Elisabeth Elliot is my benchmark for beauty too!

    Caretaker says said...

    eh, ur another one in a million bloggers who blog about TV shows and celebrities! Blog about yourself la.. penang la.. take pictures la and load em!

    enn@j said...

    phil,

    its not so much on blogging about celebrities and the show la...read properly

    and well, u gonna get me a digital cam this christmas izit? No camera how to take pics?

    ;p

    Anonymous said...

    These days there have been overemphasis by the media on physical beauty. Many people go through lengths to attain the perfect figure or perfect look. I believe that inward beauty is equally, if not more important than outward (physical) beauty. Imagine that you are at a party, and a beautiful lady walks in and smiles at you, only to reveal that she has awful teeth. Disgusted? Similarly it is a put off when you meet someone who is physically attractive but is rude and obnoxious. Beauty does not lie in just looks but also the character and attitude of a person.

    For the case of “Carpetstains”, it is evident that the main cause of her inferiority stemmed her separation / divorce with her spouse. A friend once asked, “Why do girls usually find it so hard to accept a compliment that they are beautiful?” I believe the main reason many of us feel this way is because we have been brainwashed by the media as to what beauty is. Ask a girl or guy what their definition of a pretty babe, the general answer would likely be a tall and svelte girl.

    In addition, as such as many of us wish to deny it, words and comments such as “You’re ugly”, “You’re fat” does affect us especially if it comes from someone close to us such as our spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, family and friends. Many friends I know have gone through depression, senseless diets because of the comments of others. Therefore, as a rule, I refrain from teasing others on their appearances for I know the harm it causes.

    Comrade Kenny said...

    Okay dokes, what I'm gonna say here will involve some politically incorrect words.

    I've sat down and have had conversations with ugly girls before. Fat ones, buck-toothed ones, skinny lanky girls, pale as teeth girls, sickly girls, you name it. Okay, maybe I've not met with all kinds of ugly, but I've had fair amounts of it.

    Thing is, you'll be amazed that, despite the fact that I call these girls ugly, I had, at one time or another, become attracted to them. These were the girls that were just happy with the way they look, had a mostly positive outlook, and smiled a lot (yeah, I'm believe smiles can bring you a long way). The happier the girl was, the better she generally carried herself, both physically, despite the fact that she may have some sort of deformity or unique physical characteristic, and mentally, despite having something like Tourrettes Syndrome. So I figure with inner beauty, comes a sort of physical beauty.

    Given, these girls will not have a tenth of the chance that men give pretty women, but anyone who had a meaningful conversation with some of these girls will find themselves surprised when they find themselves attracted to a physically unattractive girl. So, who's to fault that we men don't look at all avenues for beauty?

    Hollywood. The institution that teaches us that the cover of a book tells all, pretty on the outside is pretty on the inside and so on and so forth. Even movies that focus on inner beauty have butt ugly girls magically transforming into a beautiful princess (e.g. Strictly Ballroom and Princess Diaries). You could even say that "Silver Screen Culture" has placed horse-blinds on us, inhibiting us from looking for beauty elsewhere.

    But then again, its easy to blame someone else that we don't look for beauty beyond the beautiful. Fact is, when we look solely to the beautiful for 'character beauty', what does that say about our own?

    More up when I have the time...

    Leon Jackson said...

    hmmm, keep it coming folks, your giving me more and more material to think about.

    Dave said...

    My dreamgirl is Edith Schaeffer hahaha!

    enn@j said...

    U have good taste, hedonese :)

    Btw, just to update...the girl whom I have high hopes for got eliminated in yesterday's episode

    The 4 girls left, well...if you ask me, I wouldnt wanna be proud if any of them carries the title "Malaysia's Most Beautiful"