The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

Trivia!

The subjective experience of "beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being.

An "object of beauty" is anything that reveals or resonates with personal meaning.

In Koine Greek, beauty was thus associated with "being of one's hour". A ripe fruit (of its time) was considered beautiful, whereas a young woman trying to appear older or an older woman trying to appear younger would not be considered beautiful.

The earliest Western theory of beauty can be found in the works of early Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period.

The foundations laid by Greek and Roman artists have supplied the standard for male beauty in western civilization, demonstrated in the Statue of "David", based around Roman ideals, which is still world-renowned as the perfection of male beauty.

A strong indicator of physical beauty is "averageness", or "koinophilia". When images of human faces are averaged together to form a composite image, they become progressively closer to the "ideal" image and are perceived as more attractive.

"Metrosexuality" is actually called bishonen, and is a traditional Japanese practice that has spanned centuries and still exists today in traditional culture.

Researchers have found that good looking students get higher grades from their teachers than students with an ordinary appearance. This has been recently investigated and researched much more in depth, which has become one of the most-leading, yet least known reasons for Federal and State Government school boards to push uniforms, or strict dress codes. (Theres a kick to the nuts, right? Try to be individual, and you get flunked. That uniforms not looking so bad, now, is it? ;P)


Attractive patients receive more personalized care from their doctors.

Studies have even shown that handsome criminals receive lighter sentences than less attractive convicts.

How much money a person earns may also be influenced by physical beauty. One study found that people low in physical attractiveness earn 5 to 10 percent less than ordinary looking people, who in turn earn 3 to 8 percent less than those who are considered good looking.

Discrimination against others based on their appearance is known as lookism.

Psychology has proven that one of the most common factors of what one finds "beautiful" is symmetry. Whether it's in nature, objects, or physical appearance of a creature/person - things that are symmetrical are commonly accepted as more beautiful. An example of this is the Taj Mahal-- world renowned as one of the most beautiful and romantic buildings around, it is also perfectly symmetrical.

In the 15th century, upper-class ladies of northern Europe painfully plucked their hairline to make their foreheads seem higher.

In Burma, a long neck was considered elegant, and beautiful. To achieve this, the practice of neck-stretching, or neck-rings was created. The girls would be introduced to their first neck-ring as early as 5 and continue the process their whole life. The muscles in the neck would become so stretched, and apathetic from dependency on the rings, that if a woman committed a crime against her tribe, her rings would be cut off and she would choke to death.

Tattoos have become a landmark in beauty of self-expression and individuality in alternative cultures throughout the west, but it is an ancient, and sacred tradition of spirituality and strength. The earliest tattoo equipment was found by archaeologists as early as 10,000 BCE.

In the 13ths and 14th centuries, fashion emphasized the trim silhouette. In the 16th century, the skirts grew heavier and wider and a woman's small waist meant wealth and rank. Into the 19th century, corsets were very popular in Europe and America. The perfect waist was 18-19inches around . Society demanded the tiny "wasp-waisted" look, and would start girls as young as 13-14 on the binding. Even today, corsets are looked as a classic, elegant and down right seductive symbol of beauty and sexuality.



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