I was considering what society thinks about a woman's beauty. We've been taught to color our hair because another shade will be more flattering. They say silky smooth legs are better so we shave. We paint our face. Exercise not just for health reasons, but for aesthetics. And we garnish our nails with acrylic and gel wraps… all in the name of beauty.
What is acceptable and beautiful to most people? If a woman doesn't shave under her arms, is that unappealing? What about un-arched eyebrows and a few stray hairs sprouting from the chin? If her hair is going a little gray should she color it? And what about unshaven legs, isn't that simply natural?
So, what is beautiful?
I've pondered the purpose of God creating us with hair under our arms, on our legs, sprouting from our chins and with bushy brows to boot. He must think the way He created us is beautiful or He would not have done so. Then I glance in the mirror and think I prefer all the embellishments and procedures of being a modern woman. But would I want to arch my eyebrows and shave my legs if it wasn't advertised on television, featured in magazines and even wrote about in books?
I think I could be content being a natural beauty, but would I survive the scorn and criticism from other beautiful women? …The perfectly arched, coifed, smooth, up-to-date women.
I like what India.Arie says on her Acoustic Soul album in the song Video, verse 1:
Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don't
Sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won't
Depends on how the wind blows I might even paint my toes
It really just depends on whatever feels good to my soul.
We women probably need to have the same attitude – whichever path we decide to follow – as India expresses in verse 2:
When I look in the mirror and the only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it's supposed to be
And I know my creator didn't make no mistake on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I'm loving what I see.
What do you think? Are you a natural beauty or do you choose to embellish on your naturalness? Gentlemen, what do you think or prefer?
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Comments: 20
i used to wear clothing that was more for the opposite sex than for me..... high heels, short skirts, etc. now i wear what i'm comfortable in! and it might be sweats!
There it is from this man's perspective...........
At times attitude is a big turn off.
Shannon: I'm feeling you on that! Although I've been trying to look cute most of the time 'cause I'm feeling some changes of life (will be 38 next week). I want to get some of those stylist jogging suits and trendy sneakers then I can look cute and be in "sweats" at the same time! LOL
Robin & Bambi: Thanks for sharing. I think being honest helps other women!
William, Daniel, Barry: Thanks for the male input and perspective.
Gautami: You are so right!
I have found myself pondering this lately as well. Especially since I just had another birthday (28).
I have lots of grey hair and want to cover it up but I need someone to help me since I know I'll miss some spots if I do it myself. I prefer my hair dyed, but I don't sit there thinking about my grey hair all the time.
Now, I'm starting to notice small lines and wrinkles... this is a small concern for me that I want to address NOW because when I'm 60 I don't want to look like I'm 90. I have no problem with looking my age and don't wish to stop the aging process but why look older than you are if you can stop that from happening just by taking care of your skin?
Armpits.. gotta shave those or I'll stink! Hubby might kill me if he knows I said this but he actually likes hairy pits. If I know I'm not really going anywhere for a few days or longer on occassion I'll let it grow but before I go out for business or pleasure... here comes the razor! LOL
Legs... sometimes I shave, sometimes I don't.. sometimes I'll just shave to the knee. I am Italian and my hair grows very fast. It gets tedious shaving every single day!!!
Even if I'm not shaving my legs I DO shave my feet and toes!
I like to use skin care, I love to wear makeup! Most of the time my makeup will look more on the natural side. Sometimes I get funky with it. Possibly the teenage goth side in me creeping back out hehehe. I LOVE makeup! I have tons of it! I don't do it for others, but because I like it! I like to have fun with it. Sometimes it may just be a little bit of a natural color eyeshadow and a natural colored lipgloss... other times it's powder, shadow, liner, mascara, blush, lip liner, lipstick, and lipgloss... and of course there is always the in between... any combo of above. This usually also depends on how much time I have left to get ready.
My hair, I don't use a heck of a lot of product.. sometimes none. I wash, detangle, brush and let it airdry. If I do this, for the first stage of drying I tie my hair back so it doesn't frizz out (curly hair).
Nails... sometimes I paint them, sometimes I don't. I have to admit though, when my toes are painted.. somehow I do feel better about myself, more feminine? Not really sure what it is but I like it. It makes me smile.
The ever dreaded facial hair!! Oh yes, a big problem for me being Italian and all. I have found I can't wax which is disappointing, my skin is too sensitive and I will scab up (I think I'll take the hair over the scabs!). There is a man who does a wonderful job at shaping brows by tweezing and he does it in a way that doesn't hurt which is the best part. When I get around to it, I go to him. He's kinda far away though. I just one of those eyebrow groomer thingies (the electric razor kind with an attachment). I like this very much. It's not as good as if I got them waxed or plucked by a professional (mainly because I have a hard time shaping my own brows) but it works and of course gets rid of the in between hairs that would LOVE to give me a unibrow if I let it.
Okies, prob TMI but there it is
when.I.want.to.feel'beautiful'I'll.get.dressed.up.Beauty.
has.been.defined.differently.throughout.the.ages.Just
look.at.a.Ruben.painting.Ahh...those.were.the.days!
Amanda: Right on!
makes me more confident abt myself....
I think it's wonderful for people to respect themselves enough to look their best. But I think it's very sad when anyone feels that he or she needs to look younger, or sexier, or whatever, to measure up to someone else's standard. Personally, I like women who are going to look substantially the same first thing in the morning as they do when they leave the house to face the world. I like a woman I can always recognize. And I like a woman confident enough to age gracefully and be who she is. I have had three girlfriends who were more than ten years older than I am . . . they had stopped buying into what they thought they should be, and were exploring being who they were. They were sexually confident, physically confident, and fantastically imperfect.