🧚 #ALEXdialogues (3) #ALEXthinks (4) 📓 DRAFT 🇺🇸 only in English THINKER. I want to talk about beauty.
CO-THINKER. Sure, let’s do it.
THINKER. What is beauty?
CO-THINKER. You tell me.
THINKER: I think that modern society completely misunderstands this term.
CO-THINKER. What do you mean?
THINKER: I mean, what does modern society think that beauty is? There are beauty standards, right?
CO-THINKER: I agree with that. Can you explain further?
THINKER: Of course. I am saying that modern society defines certain beauty standards. I know more about beauty standards for gay men, can we focus on that?
CO-THINKER. Sure. No problem.
THINKER: That is good to hear. So there are beauty standards for modern gay men, and they are all wrong!
CO-THINKER. What do you mean exactly? I do not think I understand.
THINKER: Let me explain. Here are some beauty standards for modern gay men. They have to be very fit, have a lot of muscles, and be very slim. Any extra fat is forbidden and ridiculed.
CO-THINKER: That sounds crazy to me!
THINKER: Absolutely! On one hand, not everyone can genetically meet these standards. For some, it will be really difficult to achieve, and for others, it will be easy. So these standards are essentially racist. On the other hand, a really fit and sporty man can be completely unattractive to me, while a man with a big belly can be super sexy.
CO-THINKER: I am not sure where you are going with this.
THINKER. What I am trying to say is that this idea of beauty is wrong, it is not helpful.
CO-THINKER: What do you mean by "not helpful"?
THINKER: I mean that a beautiful man should be attractive, right? But what if he is beautiful but not attractive? Then it stops making sense to me, at least in terms of terminology.
CO-THINKER: Hmm... So you are saying that this sporty, fit, beautiful man can in fact be unattractive and therefore not beautiful?
THINKER: Yes, that is what I mean! These words, of attractiveness, of beauty, become meaningless.
CO-THINKER: Wait, are you sure about that? The athletic man will have a beautiful, muscular posture and all. And let's be honest, when there is a little fat, it is sexy.
THINKER. I would not be so sure about that.
CO-THINKER: What do you mean exactly? Can you explain?
THINKER: I mean that these beauty standards are not absolute but relative. They are modern, current.
CO-THINKER: I still do not quite understand.
THINKER: I mean that in a very poor country, where people may often have hunger because they may not have enough food, a fat man would be the most sexy.
CO-THINKER: Or, I think I understand where you are going. So you are trying to say that beauty standards reflect what is difficult to achieve. So in a country where there is food scarcity, a fat man would be the most beautiful, and in a country where there is an abundance of food, it would be a slim man.
THINKER: I think you have a very good point. I even need to rethink my own thoughts on this issue.
CO-THINKER: What do you mean?
THINKER: Let me further explain my thoughts on this issue. For me, the most beautiful man would be the one who is the most charismatic. Or, maybe it is better to say, the most spiritually developed. Honestly, it is quite difficult to define, but what I am trying to say is that for me, the most beautiful man would be the one who is truly in harmony with himself.
CO-THINKER: I am still not sure if I understand.
THINKER: Of course. Let me explain further. For me, the most beautiful man would be the one who dares to be himself. Or dares to be herself. Or themselves. Because the man can have different genders and use different pronouns.
CO-THINKER: That is fine with me.
THINKER: Great! So for me, beauty lies in a person's authenticity and inner strength.
CO-THINKER: Oh, I think I understand where you are going. So you are trying to say that being truly authentic and strong on the inside is not easy to achieve, so it forms the value that makes someone beautiful.
THINKER: Yes! I find it beautiful how we are joining forces to redefine what beauty is. And yes, I would say that beauty is something that is difficult to achieve, but at the same time something that is truly beautiful.
CO-THINKER: But do you think we can really understand what is TRULY beautiful?
THINKER: I do not think we can, but we can sincerely believe that something is truly beautiful.
CO-THINKER: Oh, that is something new. What do you mean by "believe"?
THINKER: I mean that something is truly beautiful for you if you truly believe that it is beautiful. I mean that it does not have to be objectively beautiful, because in my opinion there is no objective beauty.
CO-THINKER. Oh, you are basically reiterating the old and known thought that the beauty is subjective.
THINKER. Yes, of course! Beauty is completely subjective. What is a beautiful for one is not beautiful for another, and otherwise.
CO-THINKER: That is interesting. But are you sure that there cannot be objective beauty?
THINKER: Yes, I would say that objectivity does not apply to beauty. There can be objective health or an objective norm, but not beauty. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
CO-THINKER: Okay, okay, I think I can accept that, at least for now. But what should we do with beauty standards then?
THINKER: Break them down! Destroy them! They only cause harm.
CO-THINKER: Oh, my! did not think that you were such a rebel.
THINKER: Yes, I am!
CO-THINKER: And you know what... I think I have to admit that I kinda... like it.
THINKER: Thank you, sweetheart. I like you too. 💛