Physical beauty- Objective or subjective? Cultural or universal?

You mention youth, but there are plenty of people who are youthful but not very attractive people. There are some older people who are attractive too. Jennifer Lopez is beautiful, and she is 47 years old.

 

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She's hot.

 

Big eyes, full lips, good skin and healthy body are signs of youth=beautiful.

However, I could go on and contradict myself by pointing out that there are tons of people who think Kim Kardashian, Megan Fox and Beyonce are amongst the most beautiful women on Earth and some women who think Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Gossling are amongst the most beautiful men, and I just do not see it.

Still. I refuse to reject my thesis

 

She is NOT youthful though. She is almost 50 years old.

 

I think Beyonce is beautiful. Kim is beautiful too, although she has gone WAY too far with the butt thing. Megan Fox - I'm pretty sure she's had some cosmetic surgery on her face (why she would do that, I have no idea as she was very beautiful before IMO).

I think Brad Pitt is beautiful. I think Robert Downey Jr. has aged very well and is a really handsome guy. Neither of them are youthful.

You either have beauty or you don't. It doesn't matter how old you are, although I will say that some people age better than others.

 

I know. But she has a lot of those youthful traits that people find attractive. It is about traits and not age.

 

Beauty is somewhat subjective but for the most part is universal. It is also more emphasized culturally for women.
An average looking man can be attractive if he is rich, funny, smart, or powerful. Sad but true.

 

Robert Downey Jr is in his 50s. Speaking from a woman's point of view, I don't really find "youthfulness" to be attractive. I like men who look like men and a person I would have things in common with.



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Why is that sad? It is sad to you to look beyond a person's outward appearance? Yes, men who are NATURALLY funny (those who don't try to hard at it where it's obvious) are attractive to me personally. A guy certainly doesn't have to be a "10" for me to be attracted to him.

 

Beyonce I cannot stand because there is something about her aura that turns me off (oh, crap! Contradicted myself again. Didn't I?) Kim Kardashian is not even remotely hot to me and Megan Fox was always overrated imo.

Subjectivity plays a part, but I still believe certain things are universal

Interestingly enough, it seems more usual for women to like older men than it is for men to like older women. No idea why. Perhaps Sigmund can help us here...Lmfao.

So, then you agree "beauty" does exist?

 

Of course, but when it comes to having a relationship with such a person, there has to be a lot more and beauty is not a requirement. Like I said, what good is a Ferrari when there is nothing under the hood?

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A person can be the most attractive/beautiful person in the world, but if their personalities suck, then they really don't have much to offer.

 

Exactly! Like I said; women like masculinity. Men like femininity.

 

I like how he looks, but that doesn't mean I'd like him, have a relationship with him, or sleep with him. Lol. I have to LIKE a person for any of those things to occur, and if the person has all the things I like except beauty, the beauty is going to take a back seat. A man doesn't have to be great looking (as long as he isn't HIDEOUS) for me to be sexually attracted to him. Certain types of personalities are going to turn me off no matter what he looks like.

 

Downey Jr has a strong jaw, a full set of hair and a very symetric face. Looks younger than he actually is too. He posesses both masculine- and youthful traits.

I would like things to be as romantically Disney-esque like that too, but ultimately I believe physical attraction is very much about "I want your genes!"

 

I don't think so, at least not for me. Personality is MUCH more important than looks. Have you ever met someone who initially you found rather unattractive, but the more you got to know that person the more beautiful they were? Or in the other way, have you ever met someone that you initially thought was beautiful but the more you got to know that person the less beautiful they became?

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How old are you Ritter? I think young people tend to be more shallow (speaking in general terms). Being 38 years old myself, I've come to realize that the older you get, the more you realize that other things are more important than looks.

 

A symmetric face? Lol. Most people have a "symmetric" face whether they are physically beautiful or not. Unless you are talking about stroke patients.

 

Not so much the first example, but definitely the second.

24.

I never cared too much about looks, but I just cannot deny the biological fact that they - whether we like it or not - play a very important role on the "dating and mating market", more so than we would like it to be. Looks are not everything, but looks are more than just something.

 

Well, you are still young. Beauty becomes less important as you get older, unless you are talking about one night stands or something. When looking for a real relationship, other things are much more important, such as compatibility and having things in common to talk about, having someone who cares about you and loves you for who you are, having someone who treats you with respect and kindness and respects your feelings, etc., etc.

And THAT is why you will see attractive people paired with less than attractive people.

 

But some people are more symetrical than others and fulfill the "golden ratio" to 100%. For example it is said you could cut a picture of Ingrid Bergman's face through the middle and end up with two identical halves.

It is all about proportions.

 

That is definitely not the case. Here is a very good looking guy (Joaquin Phoenix) whose face is not very symmetrical.



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Sometimes, imperfections can be sexy.

 

i think, cute poon, is universal.

 

Physical and mental beauty are entirely subjective and based on individual opinion.

 

Objective at the individual level, subjective beyond that. If it were objective and universal to all humanity then all women would objectively rate me in the same way, which they do not. As a long haired man some women love my look while others hate it while still others do not care either way.

 

But, physical- and romantic/sexual attraction are - as you have mentioned yourself - not entirely the same thing. This thread specifically covers physical beauty and is therefore not only named "beauty-(...)"

Romance involves more complexity, but simple and plain physical "damn-he/she-looks-fine-attraction" is, pretty much, solely down to symetry and signs of health and youth.

 

Googling around I found a nice article that, interestingly enough, mentions Joaquin Phoenix;

http://www.science20.com/rogue_neuron/science_pleasure_part_one_allure_asymmetry

 

More or less it is about the facial features than anything else, if your face is symetric chances are pretty high many women, all around the globe, will like your face (objectivity), but some of them might say "but cut that hair" (subjectivity).

I am pretty sure you have nice and thick hair, yes?