Scarica The Impact of Physical Beauty on Lives, Careers, and Happiness: A Historical Perspective e più Esercizi in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! How important is beauty? It's common knowledge that we humans take our looks(to consider the aspect) very seriously. Just watch an hour of TV and count the commercials for hair, skin, teeth, and nail products; make-up for every conceivable(capable of being imagined or grasped mentally) fold of facial skin; the South Beach, Atkins, Cookie, and Cabbage Soup diets; low-fat foods and exercise machines; flattering clothing for every body type … the list goes on and on. The real question is “Is it worth it?” How much does physical beauty actually impact our lives, careers, relationships, and happiness? Multiple studies from forty years ago on have tackled(make determined efforts to deal with (a problem or difficult task). this controversial question, and all have drawn the same conclusion: Although we like to toss(throw) around maxims such as “beauty is only skin deep,” humans put much more importance on looks than we care to admit. First of all, forget about defining beauty. No universal, pan-temporal definition applies to all races, cultures, ethnicities, time periods, or personal preferences. The specifics of what makes a person beautiful vary dramatically and are affected by multiple factors. A sixteenth-century English courtesan would take one look at Halle Berry's tanned, toned abs or Kim Kardashian's voluptuous(sensual) figure and cringe. In the fifteenth century, a flat stomach was indicative of the lower class, and large breasts(chest) were considered “vulgar.” On the other hand, who could picture a dumpy Dark Ages noblewoman with a pasty white stomach and barely-there breasts walking in the annual Victoria's Secret fashion parade? Before World War I, women were supposed to be soft and feminine, as in the case of the oft-referenced Rubens nude paintings. Now our culture worships jutting hip bones(prominent haunch bones), protruding clavicles, and visible rib cages(chest). Despite beauty's transience, there is no end to the things humankind will do in its name. The Padaung women of Burma wear brass(a yellow alloy of copper and zinc) rings to elongate their necks, simultaneously deforming their collar bones and ribs and permanently bruising(ecchymosis) their throat muscles. The Kikuyu men of Nairobi stretch their earlobes with enormous plugs until the skin snaps, at which point they tie the ends in an attractive – and undoubtedly very masculine – bunny-ears bow. Modern society marvels at the extremes these allegedly “primitive” groups undergo to achieve their definition of beauty. However, are we any different? We spend hours at the gym tearing(to lacerate) and re-tearing our muscles, hoping they will grow back bigger, rounder, smoother, stronger. We submit ourselves to unnecessary surgeries, hacking off(to mutilate) unsightly nasal cartilage and flabby(flaccid,soft) love handles(the part by which a thing is held, carried, or controlled). We starve ourselves for days and shove our fingers down our throats to vomit up any extra calories threatening to plump our rib cages. In her lifetime, the average American woman will spend $13,000 on cosmetics and an astonishing two and a half years bathing, dressing, and grooming herself. In other words, the average woman who lives for 80 years will have frittered away(wasted) three percent of her life beautifying herself. In comparison, the average American man will spend a year and a half primping(spend time making minor adjustments to (one's hair, makeup, or clothes)., or about two percent of his life (this manly attention to appearance has led to the term “manscaping”). Many scoff(to deride) at this excessive focus on outward appearance. At least subconsciously, however, humans seem to realize that looks have dramatic implications.
