Let’s Redefine Beauty

For the past hundred years, people have struggled to paint a picture of what could be a universal ideal of beauty. The Ancient Greeks believed that it could be attained by following the celestial rules and proportions. During the Renaissance, Italians translated beauty to simplicity, symmetry, and harmony. The extravagant style of French Baroque reflected the royalty’s ideals of beauty. In the nineteenth century, some believed that following the classical proportions was the recipe for success, while others started questioning this theory, seeing beauty as a rational process. Art Nouveau derived its beauty from the organic shapes found in nature, with its sinuous, undulating curves. In the twentieth century, beauty was completely redefined. The modernist ideal of beauty was related to function, cleanliness, the purity of the form. The postmodernists began to explore how beauty can have a more humane approach after the rigor of modernism. Contemporary ideals now worry more about sustainability, many of them emerging from the rapid development of technology.

Beauty took many shapes throughout history, but how exactly can it be defined today so that it can serve a purpose in the future? There is a principle that all these historical periods have in common: the existence of a standard with norms that dictates what beauty should be. But is this standard beneficial? Should we limit ourselves to following it? Or should we be different in a world full of the same replies to the same questions?

I found a parallel between this problem throughout history and in our quotidian life. I made a small experiment asking my social media friends to choose between two pictures of me, one in which I looked slightly provocative, wearing makeup and posing, and the other in which I looked cozy and relaxed. My followers picked the first one, and I was barely surprised. It seems like this idea of beauty still exists and is very much present among us. Because what we are used to is always the safest path towards success. Because thinking differently usually results in less satisfaction and consideration in society than following the norm. Yes, a provocative picture of me will get more likes and comments. Yes, a concrete cube will be easier to design and more appealing to most people. But is this what we want, is this where we are going? Is posting eye-catching inappropriate pictures online the only way to make yourself feel appreciated? Just like it is to design the same house built from the same materials over and over again?

To me, this is all very sad. I want to believe that someday things will be different, schools will be different, social media will be different, architecture will be different. Things are changing, just like they’ve always been, and so should we. We should dare to question our behaviors and make them more meaningful. What matters, in the end, is not being perfect, but being human.