At one level beauty is as simple as it gets – a freshly scrubbed face with a hint of lip gloss…a pair of wide male shoulders towering over a slim waist…a head of meticulously beaded corn rows. But at another level beauty is complicated, even cruel. Children taunt one another who look different from themselves, proclaiming them ugly and worse. Grown women – even educated, successful ones – sling catty cuts at others whose makeup, clothing or hairstyle isn’t up to their standards of beauty.

BY RONALD E. GOLDSTEIN, DDS

Warring factions and nations mock each other’s facial features and physical attributes, each claiming that they are the true inhabitants of a region or that they have God-given rights to lord over others. The Nazis extolled (and demonically sought to genetically select) “ideal” Aryan features such as blue eyes and blond hair.

The Ba’hai leader Abdu’l-Baha wrote about the power and perception of beauty when he described a lush garden full of diverse flowers, shrubs and trees. “Each flower has a different charm, a peculiar beauty, its own delicious perfume and beautiful colour….So it is with humanity. It is made up of many races, and its peoples are of different colour, white, black, yellow, brown and red – but they all come from the same God, and all are servants to Him. This diversity among the children of men has unhappily not the same effect as it has among the vegetable creation, where the spirit shown is more harmonious. Among men exists the diversity of animosity, and it is this that causes war and hatred among the different nations of the world.”

Thankfully, most of us will never engage in the kind of animosity and cruelty suggested by Abdu’l-Baha. But might we be guilty of using our perceptions of beauty to cast judgments – even ostracize – others? I think it’s a question worth asking.

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS
Perceptions of beauty evolve over time. This is a function of many factors, including societal norms, changing fashion, media exposure to celebrities, and the politics and trends of the day. For example, many people in the 1960s, that would never have been considered hippies, sported the long, center-parted hair, male ponytails, peasant shirts and wide bell bottoms popularized by members of the counterculture. The fashions spread easily to those who simply liked them, without attributing to them any political or cultural significance.

In the 1970s, disco, polyester and cheek bones (remember Farrah Fawcett?) were symbols of beauty and style. During the ‘80s, glamour was in (remember the Reagan White House?). Among top “beauties” of the day were Christie Brinkley, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford. The 1990s extolled the strong jaw and masculine nose of George Clooney. More recently, nontraditional faces like that of Charlize Theron and Owen Wilson attract our attention.

Another cultural factor influencing our perceptions is the style makers toiling away in studios in Paris, New York and Milan to determine what we will wear next spring. We also are affected by plastic surgeons who both respond to market demand for more defined chins and shorter noses, and create the market by developing new techniques and possibilities for improvement.

BEAUTY...The Role of Reality TV

In an insightful article in its October 2005 issue, Marie Claire examined the changing face of beauty. According to the writer, “Watching women with low self-esteem submit to painful procedures on shows like The Swan makes some consumers think twice about going under the knife.” Among those quoted is stylist and studio owner Frank Galasso who says the natural look is ‘in’ among many models with whom he works. “Reality TV made ‘plastic-surgery beauty’ so overexposed; we are finally seeing a backlash.”

What’s more, experts quoted by Marie Claire report that beauty-related reality TV is starting to lose viewers. States trend guru Faith Popcorn, “Beauty is following the population, which is becoming more diverse.”

IMPERFECTION…THE NEW IDEAL?
The October 2005 issue of Marie Claire tackles the subject in an article titled, “Your Changing Ideal of Pretty.” It observes that beauty ideals do evolve, such that quirky faces like that of Sarah Jessica Parker are considered beautiful today, compared to the more perfected look of former icons like Christy Turlington and Iman.

In fact, the Marie Claire article is among voices suggesting that imperfection is an emerging beauty ideal! That’s especially true in an era of broad access to plastic surgery – “anybody” can be perfect, the thinking goes, but not everybody can be Karolina Kurkova or Drew Barrymore. Why go for the ultra-smooth, wrinkle-free plastic surgery look when overly large eyes, a prominent nose or a high lip line are so distinctive?!

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
Where we’re heading with all this is the fact that cultural beauty preferences come and go, but personal preferences remain relatively constant. Sometimes both are used to hurt or exclude others, and it’s always wrong.

In my case, my wife’s looks are as appealing to me after 49 years of marriage as they were when she was in her teens. Marilyn Monroe, the paragon of beauty of my youth, was never my style. I know of a number of people who have divorced and remarried individuals who look uncannily like their original spouses. The marriage may have soured, but their perceptions of beauty remained constant.

I’ve probably judged more than 100 beauty pageants including Miss Atlanta, Miss Tennessee, and so many others. In that role I have always tried to remain objective, discounting my own preferences and concentrating on the standards established for each event. It was not unusual that the appearance of a candidate for whom I voted did not appeal to me on a personal level, but fit the judging criteria and thus earned my vote.

PERCEIVE WITH CAUTION
What concerns me is when we take our personal, or societally influenced views of beauty too seriously…or too far. In our hiring practices, do we let our notions of attractiveness and style overshadow experience, capability or “organizational fit?” When we encounter new people, does an edgy hairdo or excessive makeup prejudice us against someone? Does the fact that an individual sports a “weird” or seemingly inappropriate hairstyle or outfit make us dismiss him or her without ever exchanging a word?

Consider Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink, which treats the power of first impressions. He presents two photos of himself – one conservatively groomed, the other with a mane of untamed hair – that would likely evoke a very different response among potential readers of his fine book. Do we expect less from someone who looks offbeat? It’s unfair, perhaps even biased, but it’s hard to deny. My guess is that we have all fallen prey to such shallow behavior.

Imagine the problems that could result if we let our personal viewpoint overly influence us. A business executive would be surrounded by employees who all resembled her husband’s looks! A casting director might fill roles with only a certain type of actor.

More seriously, such behavior can too easily digress into nasty and even hateful actions. It has long been a personal goal of mine to reduce the temptation to judge and to check myself periodically for such behavior. Do I succeed 100 percent of the time? Of course not. But heightening my sensitivity to the tendency has been beneficial. I know of others who also seek to correct this kind of mistake in their personal and professional lives. Like me, they’ve discovered that beauty-based judgments are often made unconsciously and they need to become more aware of them. It’s a point that’s been corroborated by research and on TV shows like ABC’s 20/20 that show employers are more likely to hire traditionally attractive people than those with less appeal.

DO YOUR PART !
If you recognize yourself in Tina Fay’s highly successful film Mean Girls, it’s time to get a new attitude. Consider “acting more tolerant” for your 2006 New Year’s resolution. Become aware of appearance-based stereotyping around you, including on TV, in films and in books. Let others know you don’t like it a bit when a casual observation about an unusual outfit becomes a mean diatribe.

Concludes Abdu’l-Baha: “The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”

Author of the consumer guide Change Your Smile (Quintessence Publishing), Dr. Ronald Goldstein is a long-time esthetic dentist in Atlanta, whose practice was the first to move beyond the smile and focus on overall facial harmony. With a lifelong interest in beauty, Dr. Goldstein has conducted research into the concept of physical attractiveness and its role in the achievement of personal success. He writes extensively on beauty, esthetic dentistry and related topics. Dr. Goldstein can be contacted by email at [email protected].