Natural Beauty
What is Natural Beauty?
Before we begin discussion of how different forms of media shape our ideas of natural beauty, we must first define the term. According to Dictionary.com, beauty is
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the quality present in a thing or person that
gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind
The brain on beauty
Now that beauty has been defined, we must also define 'natural'. According to Dictionary.com again, natural is "existing in or formed by nature (opposed to artificial)."
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Given these two definitions, it would be reasonable to assume natural beauty would be roughly defined as 'a quality of a person/thing that gives pleasure or satisfaction from its original state'.
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But what does this mean? Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely define natural beauty, as each person's own definition will vary. Below are some examples of definitions of natural beauty, informing us of the differences present in regard to the same subject.
"A person who needs nothing but the skin they are in to be beautiful to the eye" - Urban Dictionary
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​"Natural : existing in nature and not made or caused by people, without chemical substance, antonym of artificial
Beauty : the quality of being physically attractive, give pleasure to the senses of mind.
The beauty that you are born with." - Quora
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​"[L]iterally looking fresh and gorgeous without makeup or tanning. Like your hair is all messy and your face just looks fresh and clean. Having confidence in your own skin... [P]eople always say I have natural beauty and and it's seriously the best compliment." - MSU student
What is 'natural beauty'?
While there may be variations between the different definitions above, there is a pattern present in these and many other definitions of natural beauty. We'll get into that pattern later on in the site, specifically here.
Changing Natural Beauty
Now that we've viewed some definitions of natural beauty, we need to examine how portrayals of natural beauty have changed over time. The following video gives us a glance at some of the major beauty trends throughout history.
The video above demonstrates how, for centuries, women have physically altered themselves to fit whatever was considered the ideal look during their specific time period.
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However, just as important as asking 'how' women have changed their physical features over the years is asking 'why' women have changed their features.
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One of the main reasons that the standards for beauty have changed is linked to wealth. One example of this is demonstrated in the video above: the ​yearning for extremely pale skin. This physical characteristic was coveted because pale skin meant you were so rich you didn't need to labor, but instead lived a life indoors.
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Another example of how wealth has affected standards of beauty is in regard to body shape and size. Throughout different time periods in history, women were viewed as 'beautiful' if they were overweight or fat, as this was a sign they were wealthy enough to afford excess food. However, nowadays, thinness is desired because it shows that someone is wealthy enough to eat expensive, healthy food and has the extra time (and often money) to work out.
Beauty = $$
So where do media come into play in affecting the ever-evolving definition of natural beauty? Head over to the next page to read more about media.