Like how one percieves good and evil, beauty and ugliness are equally relative. Countless times have I seen actor(ress), musician and what not that people will pine about how sexy, attractive, beautiful they are. I won't say anything to contradict but am left to ponder what part of that person they find beautiful.
The focus of ones attention varies between everyone. Some people will take in the whole picture, others focus on key features while some will nitpick every crease, cranny and curve.
When it comes down to it, most people's perception of beauty relies on what they find attractive, not neccessary what is pretty by standard. I can name a few people popularized in media that people will pine over and I find...well, kind of ugly. Which brings us to the more important matter, what makes ugly? You can live your life homely or mildly attractive, but ugly is like a stink that doesn't go away.
So really if one is concerned about their looks or general appearance, shooting for -not- ugly is a reasonable goal, espicially if said person was not found attractive or does not find themself attractive.
What makes ugly? I'll be getting to that shortly...
The vast majority of us usually look are best at the earliest of ages, before the world, mankind and our saturation upon developement(either emotional or enviromental conditions). As you grow, how you're raised and treated, your view of yourself, contributes to your physical appearence. Even if you can hide emotion, your self gradually gets painted onto your physical form. The mind is a powerful thing, the tool of the soul to guide the body in the world. Simply being told and thinking that you are beautiful or ugly can make you thus. Even if you don't believe these things, a part of you might.
Beauty is tricky. Ugliness is pretty basic. Like smashing a stained glass window is far easier then building one, it takes no real effort to be ugly. Simple things like greed, selfishness, agressiveness, sadness and hatred chisel your face, bend your posture and even effects your stance. Its not hard to do any of those things, but it is to not do them. Which I'm pretty sure is the point.
So why do we get fooled? Well the answer lies within ones self. Trying to either find someone whose on your level or above...and in some cases below. The body you start with and grow up with, even if you take care of it, eat right, excercise or even do the opposite does not neccessary contribute. Sterotypes that people have tend to make those superficial things mandatory.
Some people know that they are either beautiful or ugly, their are actually a minority. Most people have a perception that they are one of the two, or in the middle, but its easy to lie to yourself. If everyone you know tells you so, you believe it out of trust. If you look at yourself, you may find every flaw, or every perk. Thus, we, both men and women who have the vanity for it, tend to fashion themselves in ways to direct the eyes of the onlooker. Makeup, clothing, accessories. Anything to distract the eyes, or draw them to a desire location, distorting the viewers perception of the targets true appearence.
In the end its not your body shape, weight, height, age, ethnicity, sex or even deformations that decides your look, but you yourself. Its truelly all in the mind, and the sooner you know, the less likely you'll find yourself ugly. And if you do, think of what you might be doing that is ugly. Not being ugly is a step up the pretty ladder. Oh, and you can't fake climbing a ladder, it just doesn't work. You find yourself staring at that ladder, invisioning yourself climbing up it...but you're still well in the mud, and sinking.
Remember, some of the -beautiful- people have flaws that you'd find ugly in others.
