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Discussion » Questions » Life and Society » Is Our Society Immature? Or, How To Define Beauty?
Benedict Arnold

Is Our Society Immature? Or, How To Define Beauty?

A psychologist, Robert somebody, once said that you could tell the maturity of a society by how they defined feminine beauty; maiden, mother, or crone.
So, an immature society will admire youth as beauty...as do we now (typically).

But, Native American cultures often regard the mother as the standard of beauty...thus by Robert's criteria, a more mature society!
And just this morning on aMug, someone posted Helen Mirren as an example of a beautiful woman...at age 71, clearly in her crone years.

Well this Q is kinda all over the place...so what do you think about female beauty, mature societies, or whatever?






Posted - March 5, 2017
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Responses


  • 5614
    Something nigh perfect is beautiful, whether it be symmetrical physical beauty, architectural design, a well thought out plan or procedure, music ,art that stimulates higher thinking, even a physical act or thought. Many things in many ways can be beautiful :) This post was edited by O-uknow at March 5, 2017 7:48 PM MST
      March 5, 2017 5:08 PM MST
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  • A sense of perfection, or near perfection, sometimes with symmetry, touching the higher within us...I like that, O-uknow, ty!
      March 5, 2017 5:31 PM MST
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  • 5614
    I like that you like :)
      March 5, 2017 5:46 PM MST
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  • I'll keep it simple .. I love it!
    It's a bit like someone once described pornography ... I can't describe it but I know it when I see it
      March 5, 2017 5:14 PM MST
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  • Ozgirl, you may already realize that you inspired this Q...and I actually thought of that about pornography as I posted it - wasn't that a judge who said that?
      March 5, 2017 5:33 PM MST
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  • I don't know... I think it was some American official but would have to go find it to be certain
      March 5, 2017 7:33 PM MST
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  • "In the eye of the beholder" is as true now as ever but we, as a society, have been manipulated. We have been trained to view certain body types as beautiful and others not. This has become more pronounced since computers made it so easy to airbrush out any unwanted features. I'd be willing to bet that even Hippy's ex could look beautiful if you filtered her through PhotoShop. 

    The perception of beauty would depend on whether it was viewed dispassionatly, emotionally, or sexually. And that comes back to your query: YES! conformity to the popular ideal often points to immaturity.
      March 5, 2017 5:25 PM MST
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  • Dozy, this concept is interesting to me because at one time, I considered our Western standard of beauty as absolute; no other possibility, and then to discover that yes we have indeed been manipulated...and I can learn to look through my own eyes.

    ty for lovely answer.
      March 5, 2017 5:38 PM MST
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  • Perhaps Robert's standard of judging a societies' maturity is spurious.  
      March 5, 2017 8:06 PM MST
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  • Oh I hope not, Whistle6...I hope this is not as good as it gets!
    But...could be...

    Thank you, your thought is appreciated, as always. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 5, 2017 11:47 PM MST
      March 5, 2017 11:44 PM MST
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  • I think you misunderstood me.  My comment was meant to suggest that the cited psychologist may have proposed a silly, useless standard of measure.  Such a complex issue likely has a multiplicity of measures and no standard.  Different groups may have different ideas.
      March 6, 2017 7:40 AM MST
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  • 5808
    they say that beauty 
    is in the eye of the beholder
       yeah, but
         there is no
    fencing in or covering up beauty.
    It is strong, natural, a pure radiance of 
    its nature.
    A lotus out of the mud.
    The wings of a butterfly
    the most Scentful beautiful Rose...
    a 100 year old woman full of wrinkles
    with her eyes sparkling of life...
         so yeah, I see beauty that I think is there
    even if I am not there to observe it
    as being beautiful.




      March 5, 2017 8:47 PM MST
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  • Baba that is so lovely, kinda recalls Emerson, "...beauty is its own excuse for being."
    thank you!
      March 5, 2017 11:46 PM MST
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  • 7683
    Betty White, celebrated her 95th birthday in January this year, who can be more beautiful at that age;))
      March 5, 2017 11:13 PM MST
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  • Doesn't the question refer to the value society assigns to all nonogenarians, septuagenarians and octogenarians as opposed to singling out exceptional individuals?
      March 5, 2017 11:34 PM MST
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  • 7683
    Well, I thought it was asked in a broader spectrum, VirginiaL said,'Well this Q is kinda all over the place...so what do you think about female beauty, mature societies, or whatever?
      March 5, 2017 11:46 PM MST
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  • I think we venerate certain individuals - as these pictures attest to - and ignore the less 'well-aged'. These images are of women who seemingly defy their years. I could respond with pictures of less privileged, less well preserved womem who are not as pulchritudinous - and although I think most people would say nice things because they feel they should - that doesn't equate to a society's maturity.
    We chose examples that defy that, in fact.
      March 6, 2017 12:30 AM MST
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  • Veena.K, I can remember watching her on the TV quiz show WHAT'S MY LINE, in the 1950's.
    And I found this photo of her from 1954 when she would have been 32 y/o - if anything, she looks better now!

      March 5, 2017 11:56 PM MST
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  • 7683
    Yes VirginiaL, her beauty like wine has enhanced, has become richer.....wow look at her then....look at her now.....just amazing!
      March 6, 2017 12:02 AM MST
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  • 314
    Beauty is as beauty does.  We are an immature society, still feeling our growing pains - still feeling our way in search of a national identity.  We are one of the youngest of countries without enough history to learn from and without the wisdom to learn from the history we have.

    Indigenous Americans saw mature women as the most venerable. They see beauty in all things and ages.  The society is very different and this line of thought is almost like a gnu amongst bison.
      March 6, 2017 2:40 PM MST
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