Body Beautiful?

I wish people would stop saying things like "every body is beautiful" or insisting that everyone recognise that someone is- whether they agree or not. Beauty, like art, is completely subjective and individual to the observer. If you proclaim something or someone objectively beautiful- sorry- but you're wrong; or at least, to someone, you'll be wrong. You are only beautiful if at least one other person thinks you are.

I read this morning an article entitled "Fat Femme Artist Picks Apart Your Preconceived Notions of Beauty"

Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/13/kelli-jean-drinkwater_n_6456750.html

It did not. My perception of beauty, and what I find attractive and aesthetically pleasing in women has not changed one iota. I did not see beauty in any of the photos shot. The lighting was interesting and dramatic; there, I was positive about something. To be brutally and wholly honest, I didn't actually view every single photo; I got about half way down the page and closed it again. I'm not the most svelte of men (the diet is going well by the way!), but I have no desire to look at rolls of hanging fat, "spare tyres" and cellulite under any kind of studio lighting. 

This movement to glorify obesity, despite its numerous and well-understood underlying health issues, never ceases to baffle me. As I've stated before, sometimes, inborn or developed illnesses, as well as some medicines, can lead to uncontrollable weight gain. Having said that, for those who can help it, not exercising and piling it on because you eat fast food every week is nothing to be proud of. It's certainly not something other people should celebrate. Look after your body! It's the only one you've got! 

That is not to say that some people might find something artistic or beautiful within this photoshoot; but to state categorically that a few photographs of heavily overweight women will change my personal perception of what is beautiful, is profoundly false.

Which brings me back to beauty as an idea.  Not everyone is beautiful (not even "in their own way" that's just another lie Hollywood tells you), but what we should be recognising is- that's okay. Physical beauty isn't everything. There are more important things to value in a human being than how they look. Intelligence. Rationality. Creativity. Eloquence. Talent. People are so distracted these days by flawlessly airbrushed celebrities and models in media, that they forget what else can be attractive in others. Furthermore, this really distorts what beauty can mean to some of us- because there is so much falseness and lies in what we are told is "beautiful"

Also doing the rounds on social media frequently are (for example) images of young girls with Progeria; a disorder which causes rapid premature ageing of the body, or icthyosis; a disorder which causes skin to become very dry, cracked and painful all over the body. Tagged underneath it is usually the caption "Like if you think she is beautiful" or "How many likes for this beautiful girl??" I'm afraid this sort of thing turns my stomach; for a very different reason than the photoshoot. Here is a young person, facing near insurmountable odds and challenges every single day of their lives, and the one positive thing you can think to say about them, is falsely declaring physical beauty? Wow. 

If you're one of these people, take a good hard look at yourself; and I don't just mean in a mirror. Realise that there's more to a human being than a pretty face, that beauty is only skin deep- and however you currently look, you're only one horrific freak accident away from knowing exactly what that means.