Socially Constructed Ideas of 'Beauty'

I'm not sure what you think about when you hear the word "beautiful" in regards to a woman. Most think the generalized society's point of view: super model gorgeous, tall, thin, perfect features - stuff you see in magazines. I love air brushes. But seriously, there are women out there that are trying to achieve and maintain society's version of "beautiful" and I see it almost every single day of my life. There's a fine line of keeping up with your general appearance and obsessing over 'what other people think'.  The other day, I tweeted, "Being super beautiful must be like making a high salary. You won't settle for less, but the inevitable means 'retirement'. Common denominator: age. True beauty comes from within, and that lasts forever." I have seen the most "beautiful" women become the most ugly creatures on earth in a matter of seconds. I've also seen less attractive (whatever that means) become beautiful by their actions, their heart, their sense of humor, their compassion -----their "inner gorgeousness" as I like to call it. I guess that's why I love that movie Shallow Hal.

My mother told me a story a long time ago. Maybe she was trying to give me a hint, but I never forgot it. I'll try my best to remember it, because I didn't have much luck on Google. There was this little boy who was lost in a grocery store. He had strayed away from his mom and gallivanted out into the other aisles, playfully skipping by carts and playing with the merchandise on the shelves. When he looked back to call out to his mom, she wasn't there. He panicked. "Mom!! Mom!!" he screamed. Everybody turned around to see this boy in tears, crying for his mother. The manager walked up to him, knelt down and said, "Hey, what's your name?" He said, "Jack. I lost my mommy! Can you get her for me?" The manager brought him to the customer service desk and he asked the boy, "Jack, what's your mother's name?" Between the anxiety of losing his mother and him calling his mother, "mom" all the time, it had slipped his mind. "I don't know. Call out for mommy!" The manager chuckled and then asked, "Well what does she look like? Can you describe her?" Jack said, "My mother looks like a princess. She's the most beautiful woman on earth." Soon enough, a lady was looking for her boy and was told to go to the customer service desk to have him paged. "There she is! There she is!" Jack cried out. As he ran over to his mother to hug her, Jack looked at the manager and said, "This is mommy!" The woman was extremely overweight, hair somewhat disheveled, wearing clothes that were old and torn up. She didn't fit the generalized society's view of "beautiful", but her son saw her as a princess.

I also remember a girlfriend asking me for advice regarding someone she had an interest in, however she wasn't exactly "attractive". I told her if she was already interested in her, then what's the main concern? ...Other people's opinions? Because once you fall in love with someone, they become the most beautiful person on earth.

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