What makes a woman beautiful

Despite the movement of feminism, women in modern society are still seen as an object of beauty rather than given the respect of a human with emotions. As appearance is considered an important quality in society today, women are placed under pressure to be physically appealing to both males and females. Women considered to be ‘hot’ are generally those with a high sex-appeal or stunning physical appearance whereas being beautiful is a lustrous characteristic not merely reliant on one’s genes. Also, a bland or discourteous personality may override any physical appeal a woman may have. Likewise, a devoted, passionate and respectful personality can compensate for the lack of ‘perfect’ features of a woman. However, people see beauty differently and completely relies on their individual interests.
The physical appearance of a ‘hot’ woman and the personality of a ‘beautiful’ woman can’t be compared. According to men, having large breasts, a glowing face and skin, bedroom eyes, lean and sexy legs and a toned figure are among the physical attributes of an attractive woman1. Therefore, virtually any woman can become ‘hot’ simply by extreme diets, intense exercise and plastic surgery. In turn, women focus on these ‘important’ attributes and forget inner beauty. Inner beauty, difficult to appreciate with looks alone, is what connects with people and is referred to as ‘that special something’. Being beautiful is the way a woman walks, talks and presents herself to others. Some men believe having passion and being able to get excited over certain things, having the confidence to not owe her looks to anyone, not feeling the urge to fight for attention and being humble and mysterious is attractive. Intelligence of being able to logically speak her mind, have self-confidence, be compassionate and not crave the approval of others can be considered beautiful2. Therefore, being beautiful is much more than a skin-deep quality, more like a unique quality to few.
According to the Urban Dictionary, being beautiful isn’t limited to the physical features of a woman rather her personality traits and the way she acts around others. Beautiful is a woman who has a distinctive personality, one who can laugh at anything, including themselves, who is especially kind and caring to others. She is a woman who above all else knows the value of having fun, and not taking life too seriously. She is a woman that you can trust and count on to brighten your day3. As the Urban Dictionary is written by ordinary people, rather than language professionals, the meaning is relevant to society. Therefore, it proves society believes that beauty is a personality characteristic rather than a physical attribute.

People Magazine’s ’2014’s 10 most beautiful’ beauty isn’t limited to physical factors. Actress Gabrielle Union, who is among the 10 most beautiful, believes being beautiful consists of a friendly personality4. As usual, the list consists of predominately actresses and models, and all of the women are physically appealing. However, every woman on the list believes that confidence and individuality is the key to beauty. They focus on themselves, their health and wellbeing and their confidence to ensure they are happy, which also contributes to their ‘perfect’ physical appearance. These women are extremely fortunate in the aspect they have stunning physical features and ‘beautiful’ personalities. Though these women are gorgeous looking, their personalities are why they are considered in the list.
However, the women mentioned in People Magazine’s ’2014’s 10 most beautiful’ are physically attractive as well as having appealing personalities. The magazine speculates possessing decent looks is needed to expose ones beautiful personality. The fact that physical appearance is highly regarded in modern society means a woman is pressured into craze diets and bizarre skin treatments to become reasonably attractive. Therefore, women seem to need a degree of physical attractiveness or be somewhat ‘hot’ so their personality can be noticed and they can then be seen as beautiful.
Most believe ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ and is defined differently to each person. Everyone has a different interpretation of the meaning of beauty, whether it’s merely physical or personality based or a mixture of both. Some believe that first appearances are important but not always critical. A physical attribute may lead to initial interaction but the woman’s personality will maintain the attention of others. A woman with self-confidence and the ability to naturally attract the focus of those around her. She isn’t selfish and has the passion to pursue her goals and ambitions. Certainly physical attributes are desired but a beautiful personality is more attractive than glossy hair or air-brushed makeup.
Women who have shimmering hair, flawless skin, picture-perfect make-up and a glowing tan may have an uninteresting, horrible or obnoxious personality which dominates their attractive appearance. Although, a woman who doesn’t chase the attention of others and has true self confidence and respect may become more an attractive personality as time passes. Hence, physical beauty becomes irrelevant to males if the personality of a woman is seen to be ugly. However, a woman may require rather good-looks otherwise her ‘beautiful’ personality may not be recognised and appreciated. In conclusion, people perceive beauty differently which can make everyone seem ‘beautiful’.