Our Perception of Beauty

The Beautiful Mannequins 

Without rambling on and on about every flicker of emotion I felt in class while watching the exceptional and moving video - do you see this? I can barely contain myself - I'm just going to put it simply by saying that it was truly beautiful and awe-inspiring. I also want to give kudos to everyone who made a contribution to the video, especially the store that agreed to put the revamped mannequins on display for all the world to see. Honestly, I'm deeply impressed.

That aside, the video brought some interesting thoughts to mind. It was apparent in the video that there were more than a few onlookers who were less than partial to the disabled mannequins that replaced the previous ones. While some turned away in disgust, others chose to stand by and mock them. Why? Why do people turn away when a disabled person comes into their field of vision? Why do we hide them from our eyes as if we were ashamed? Why do we think they're ugly?



I would love to have all the answers to these questions. I would love to say that our skewed perception of beauty has been learned, that we have been conditioned into seeing them as undesirable, unattractive, unsightly. It would be easy for me to blame the centuries of misguided views, the media, and to say that it's because of them that this disregard for the disabled has become so deeply imbedded into the darkest corners of our minds. However, it isn't that simple. Beauty in the eye of the beholder may not be as subjective as we like to think. There have been studies that have shown humans are more likely to find others attractive if there is a strong semblance of symmetry. The more symmetrical a person's body and face are, the more people will find him beautiful. So maybe we're not as "brainwashed" as we believed. Maybe some parts of our perception of beauty is unlearned and part of human nature. Would it really be correct to condemn ourselves for feeling unsettled when looking at a disabled person?

A New Perspective

However we choose to view beauty and whether we're to blame or not, I think it's time we moved passed that. Let's stop focusing so much emphasis -both good and bad - on the handicaps' disability and focus more on their other qualities. I think it is time we take a step forward and recognize them for something other than what they are hindered by.
Don't you?