[Enayla]

Here’s a thought...

Do we seek people who are visually stunning... or people who are charismatically stunning. I know that’s not a word =)

Let me explain myself... Fashion and ideals vary throughout the times and different geographical locations. I think my favourite example would be a tribe that thinks very highly of women who have HUGE butts. And I mean really HUGE. But that’s already been argued... that’s not my point.

Someone who visually fits the ideals of the time and realises this, is someone who will know that he, or she, is attractive (like I said - REALISES, not everyone does). This person will carry herself, or himself, in a certain manner. When s/he walks into a room, s/he will have a presence that is demanding and calls on our attention. Influential people have a tendency to set these ideals. People and culture. And those who fit into the ideals carry themselves in a way that tricks us to agree. Well, then there’s the fact that we’re being fed with the ideals from birth and onward.

Now... not all of us are attracted by that kind of charisma. And not all who have that kind of charisma fit into the ideals of the current time. There are quite a few actresses and actors, for example, that do not really look like you’d expect a “pretty” person to look these days, but still have so much charm and charisma that nobody notices. Take John Malkowich for example. Personally, I think he’s a wee bit old for me ;) But I know a lot of people who think that he’s very handsome. How so? He carries himself in a certain way.

So... on some levels, I think it’s a matter of how we carry ourselves. Of our self-respect and self-confidence. Of how we enter a room - as if everyone in there probably hates us, or as if we believe everyone could learn to love us. Do we behave as ugly people? Then, in the eyes of most, we will BE ugly people. Do we try to imitate the ideals of our time, endlessly failing because ideals are always impossible to reach, and in doing so... do we feel lesser than we really are? If we do... chances are that people will notice, and find it unattractive. There’s nothing so beautiful in this world, I think, as someone who knows himself, and carries himself with confidence. Mind you - there’s a difference between confidence and arrogance.

Well... I ramble... what I am trying to say is that maybe we shouldn’t care so much about the ideals... but instead care about how we behave and how we take in other people’s behaviour. Sagged shoulders and eyes that refuse to leave the floor are traits that very few would, most likely, find beautiful.

Sorry if I'm boring ;)

[balistic]

Motion and posture are definitely part of attractiveness . . . Everyone is an animator, everyone has a puppet they manipulate (their body) . . . how you animate your body can telegraph a great deal of information about your personality.

My fifteen-year-old sister recently visted me . . . I've been in Utah for a couple years, but she still lives with my folks in Nevada (for those unfamiliar with the 'states, Nevada has legalized gambling, prostitution, and a very easy-going vibe, whereas Utah is very religious, doesn't sell alcohol on sunday, and premarital sex is technically illegal). We were walking around the mall here in Provo and all the local girls were giving her looks . . . partly because of her clothing (tight jeans, tube top, lots of jewelery), but also because of how she animated herself. We did a little experiment where she walked like she was better than everyone and had a stick up her butt . . . she didn't get half as many dirty looks as when she just walked with her usual, relaxed, tomboy-ish manner.

So there are these cultural factors at play . . . if you're a nice mormon boy looking for a pure girl to marry, you're going to go for the girls who walk like they're holy and untouched. But if you're from Reno and just looking for someone to have fun with, that kind of posturing is a big turn-off.

Physical attraction isn't fool-proof . . . but evolution has spent a great deal of time making these signals visible, and they do usually represent things that are more meaningful.

As artists, isn't it our lot in life to be somewhat superficial?