What Is Beauty

Most people have all been fooled to believe that beauty is something that just exists on the outside. They have been programmed to believe that its foundation is built on just appearance. This belief has planted itself in their heads for generations, and they have found it difficult to shake ourselves from it. When an attractive individual enters the room we pay attention and we admire that person. Some people even go as far as fantasizing about that person. But what do we really know about this individual? We do not have much to go with; we just have an attractive face to look at, and sadly, some people believe that is enough for them to go with. Appearance is not the most reliable guide to qualities that a person has, because we cannot see them with our eyes. Look at Ted Bundy; he was an infamous killer of women. He had the good looks on the outside, but was pure evil on the inside. We cannot allow ourselves to continue thinking like this; for that reason we must look beyond the flesh and also look at the personality inside and realize that there is more than one foundation for beauty.

A good personality is also thought to be attractive. An attractive appearance may attract but a good personality is what keeps people attracted to you. In a study performed, 70% of college students had deemed their instructor to be attractive when he treated the students in friendly manner, while 30% found him attractive when he was distant and cold. In a survey that was performed to uncover attributes in selecting a mate, both males and females thought kindness and an exciting personality were more important in a mate than just good looks. So people do find a good personality to be attractive. According to Douglas Yu, from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, he believes that beauty is judged by the receiver, and at the same time that there are individuals who factor in other characteristics such as intelligence and personality to create an aggregate to form an overall opinion on beauty.

Appearance is still relevant when it comes to beauty. It is after all the first thing that people will see. First impressions are made based on your looks, so it is still important. In society, we would often categorize others before having the opportunity to properly evaluate their personalities, this is based on cultural stereotypes that tell us attractive people are good, and ugly people must be bad. So being physically attractive still matters to a lot of individuals and your "good looks" do more than just land you a mate. Your good looks could even land you a job.

Of course there are individuals that will not agree and say that appearance is the only thing you need to consider when referring to beauty's foundation. Yes, appearance is important but there must be a good personality that compliments that individual's appearance. Imagine coming across an attractive person, you now attempt to engage in a conversation

...