Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Well put Nicci.

It's interesting the direction this thread has gone in. Beauty is certainly a very subjective thing when it comes to people.

On a slightly different angle to this there's the 'fantasy' aspect of attraction.

When I was a teenager I was in a class full of people who were learning Japanese and many of the men were obsessed with meeting Japanese girls - no matter how they looked as long as they were oriental. In Japan, English men and women were often treated like celebrities (might have changed now as this was over 21 years ago) and it was not uncommon for women to practically throw themselves at my English or US aqcuaintances. There are so many instances I can recall. On one occasion I remember showing a friend from Utah around Tokyo once and we were followed by a group of 4 girls for over an hour because they wanted photos taken with my colleague and wanted to getto know him better too.

Celebrity attraction is another thing. Larger people get a bad rap over here. In Japan you can't get much bigger than SUmo Wrestlers. They are HUGE. I'm average in size and my hand is probably a third the size of a well over 6 foot Sumo Wrestler. They are superstars in Japan and often marry the prettiest (and often tiny) actresses or celebrities. I was in a well known night club once and the lights went off for a few moments. When they came back on a group of the most famous wrestlers came were on the dance floor. Most of the men just left the floor and suddenly most of the women just flocked in to dance wit or be close to these giants.

Something else to consider is how people will perceive the best way to make themselves look attractive to others. Historically, socially and culturally this has and still does vary considerably.

Make-up is an interesting one. I get the feeling I am in the minority when I say that I feel make-up isn't required unless a part or image is to be played (actors or musicians for example). Gina does not wear make-up (apart from the tiniest amount of eye liner once every blue moon) and she felt this way before I met her. This is our own view nut of course most people feel make-up is wonderful and some will not even be seen, even in private, without it. Again, I don't think there is right and wrong, it's about how people in general perceive beauty.

In history teeth blackening or laqcuering was practiced and was a sign of great beauty in both Europe and the Far East. Now it is still practised by some tribes in remote regions of the world by men to attract women. They will perform a dance and at the same time will beartheir teeth to prospective mates to show how black they are (using particularly poisonous chemicals taken from old batteries) and how wonderful their teeth are.

What other examples can you think of or would like to discuss?