by Nimrah Bader

Created on: March 08, 2009

As I belong to the class of human beings known as the "fairer sex", it would be safe to say that this question is quite prevalent amongst me and my fellow girlfriends. Widely circulated.enthusiastically discussed... and fiercely debated. The ambiguous word called "beauty" has been discussed from poets to potential mother-in-laws. And ambiguous it is, as people heatedly discuss whether beauty is superficial or something much more than that.

The over-whelming majority seems to think that beauty is found inside, provoking me to write against them. Is this decision purely based on their views or has it got to do with the "simple good girl/gorgeous bad girl" theme which is ubiquitous is movies, books and plays? We've always seen the plain good-hearted girl winning in any situation, which mostly includes winning the heart of her man, while the femme fatale gets the raw end of the deal.

Saying that beauty is the stuff found outside is quite blatant, and some might scoff and label you narrow-minded (or perhaps even a jerk). I wonder if people piously claim beauty to be that nurturing, generous soul, only to appear as the "good guy"? The statement is no more than a cover up, a facade and a lie to appear noble. It's sad why such people would rather hide behind this misconception than face the truth that what they really want is that drop-dead gorgeous babe with legs that stretch for miles and hair that shines so bright it could put the sun to shame! Because this is what beauty is, was and will always be: The surface attractiveness of a person. Beauty is defined by most reliable dictionaries as pleasing characteristics. Hence traits like good-hearted, generous and kind cannot fit into that definition. Such qualities are abstract, they cannot be seen, nor touched, nor heard, nor smelt, or tasted. For beauty to be defined, the quality must be tangible. Be it the smoldering eyeliner, the striking perfume, or the charming facial featuresit needs to be concrete. A swan is beautiful because of its graceful appearance. A flower is beautiful because of its sweet smell. The birds are beautiful because of their lovely songs. But that old hag in Snow White wasn't beautiful with her crooked nose and warty face!

By saying it is not so, is only cheating yourself into believing that you can be attractive even if you look like that hag in Snow White. Or perhaps you wish to be unobtrusive and fit into the moral nice people, unlike Snow White's evil mother. Or perhaps you believe that like Snow White you took could be whisked away by your prince if you were all that kind-hearted. Mind you, Snow White was pretty good looking herself too!

A particularly odd thing about beauty is that you don't have to be drop-dead gorgeous to be beautiful. You don't need to have long legs or luscious locks. Everyone has some beauty on them. A winsome smile, a slender nose, a cute laugh. And to make things more perplexing, each individual will have different views on the same displayed feature. Maybe a sorcerer might find that old hag's nose attractive?

The wonderful enigma that is beauty has been pursued and appreciated by many. The last comment may cause you to think I'm going against myself but look close. I've stated that beauty is the tangible, but different for every individual, and that huge nose is quite a sight!

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