What is beauty and does it matter? The fashion industry and the cosmetics industry both rely on the fact that people want to look good. A huge amount of money is spent on fashion and beauty. But is all this money spent sensibly? How much importance do we really place on the way people look?
First of all, let's examine what beauty is. For example, what do we think of as a beautiful face? Judith Langlois, professor of psychology at the University of Texas has done considerable research into this. Her findings suggest that a beautiful face is a symmetrical face – both sides very similar. It is also an average face in that there are no extremes – nothing too big or too small, nothing particularly unusual, eyes not too close together. Smooth skin is also valued. And this is where the cosmetic surgeon comes in.
Features that are not considered beautiful can be altered and made more attractive. A large nose can be reduced in size. Ears that stick out can be made to lie flat. Old skin can be made to look young and smooth. Lips can be made to look fuller. Cosmetic surgery is a big business. Cosmetic surgeons make a small fortune from operations that rarely have any medical benefit. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 14 million cosmetic procedures were carried out last year, an increase of 5% on the previous year. And the biggest increase was in facial surgery.
Over the years, the 'ideal' body shape and size has changed considerably. In the 1960s, the epitome of the ideal woman was Marilyn Monroe. She was 165 cms tall and weighed 54 kilos. As one journalist recently commented: 'If she walked into Weight Watchers today, they'd sign her up.' By today's standards she would be considered overweight. Today's models are very different. When asked about the right body type, Janet Seymour, who works for one of the top modelling agencies says: 'Skinny. You know, very thin. Basically, it's just something fashion houses can put clothes on. And clothes look better on someone who is skinny.'
Unfortunately, the prevalence of skinny models in fashion magazines can have a negative effect. It is not helpful that this body shape has become the 'ideal' that many women aim for. David Bartlett, a psychologist who specialises in eating disorders, says: 'We're living in a mad mad world. The nation is getting fatter and fatter, yet we all want to be skinny. It's really not a healthy situation. We do need to start being sensible about body shape and what we eat.'
More traditional values, however, suggest that all this marketing and publicity has no real substance. We say things like: 'Beauty is only skin-deep' or 'Pretty is as pretty does'. American writer Henry James met the English novelist George Eliot when she was 49 years old. 'She is remarkably ugly,' he wrote to his father. 'She has a low forehead, dull grey eyes, an enormous nose, a huge mouth full of odd teeth … yet in her there is a most powerful beauty which, in a few minutes, reaches out and grabs your mind so that you end up, as I did, falling in love with her.'
The fashion industry puts forward ideas based on less meaningful factors about why beauty matters, telling people how they should look, how to lose weight, what they should wear, what make-up they should wear. It is only in children's stories that the ugly frog turns into the handsome prince, or the ugly duckling into the beautiful swan. But, maybe, like Henry James, it is time we started looking beneath the surface for some real beauty. Maybe we should stop listening to other people's opinions and begin to search for what real beauty is.
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