Why Outer Beauty Matters

After decades (centuries? millennia?) of judging a book by its cover, in more recent Western culture, there has been a collective call to look a little deeper, to focus on a subject’s inner beauty, to abandon a hyper-focus on the physical. An apparent attempt to evolve as a species and reach for a higher plane of existence, no one would argue that this is a bad thing. In fact, a society in which a woman is judged, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed, not by the color of her skin – or the length of her lashes – but by the content of her character, is one in which we should all want to take part.

In the Movies 

As is often the case, a society’s artistic themes tend to reflect such a scene change. You need not look further for proof of a burgeoning ideology than to contemporary pop culture. It’s not surprising, then, that a common motif in our current media landscape is the above-described shift away from a singular focus on outer appearance in favor of an “it’s what’s inside” philosophy. In the movie 21 Jump Street, for example, the main characters (played by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) are police officers returning to high school seven years after graduating as part of a sting operation. Because the mandate is to gather intelligence and infiltrate a drug trafficking ring at the school, fitting in with the student body is essential. Drawing from their own lived experience as high schoolers almost a decade earlier, they enter the social scene with a crude, “every man for himself" approach gesturing toward social Darwinism. They judge the other students solely by their appearance, quickly casting aside those deemed aesthetically unworthy. Mean girls, but make it cops. 

They quickly see, however, that this approach isn’t going very well. The ideals embraced by the new generation have changed, and behavior that used to catapult bullies to the top of the social food chain is no longer celebrated. In today’s high school, to be cool is to be kind and smart, and to see a person for who she is on the inside. The homecoming king and queen are no longer the hottest/most ruthless couple in school, but the most interesting, most accepting, most socially responsible. A hasty adoption of the new ethos was requisite if they were to be successful in their quest. 

Skin Deep

While the movie may not be a perfect representation of an actual modern high school, there is no doubt that the shift in social consciousness portrayed in the film is, at least in some ways, a reflection of reality. In modern society, there’s a noticeable increase in awareness that beauty isn’t only skin deep – something that has always been true but hasn’t always been acknowledged. And, to be clear, no one would say this isn’t somewhat of a positive change. Taking a more holistic view of one another is, no doubt, progress.

But does this mean that outer beauty is now irrelevant? That we should abandon the quest for, and appreciation of, the most visually obvious form of loveliness altogether? The answer, of course, should be, “Certainly not.” The logic just doesn’t follow. It seems that inner beauty has gotten uglier (as social media comments would reflect) as outer beauty has followed suit. If we were all becoming uglier on the outside, but virtuous and kind on the inside, we'd have a thriving society, but that simply isn't the case. We need beauty because it inspires us to become more beautiful in every aspect of our lives. The more kind and virtuous a woman is internally, the more it will radiate through her externally. Even as she ages, she will radiate beauty. That's why "judging a book by its cover" and the idea of physiognomy was so prevalent in the first place. But not everyone today would agree.

In this line of thinking, to be traditionally beautiful, or to value such beauty, is to betray the progress we’ve made. 

Because what has accompanied this undoubtedly positive evolution is the occasional total rejection of outer beauty as something that has any value whatsoever. There is a growing movement in the beauty and apparel space that questions all aspects of “traditional beauty” and rejects some of them wholesale. The trend celebrates all aesthetics equally, regardless of how well they fit with previously accepted notions of beauty, even those that are a reflection of good health (traits that are often concomitant). Some brands have even gone so far as to completely invert traditional beauty norms altogether: what was once considered beautiful is now ugly, and vice versa. In this line of thinking, to be traditionally beautiful, or to value such beauty, is to betray the progress we’ve made. 

Better Angels

Take Victoria’s Secret, for example. The popular lingerie, clothing, and beauty brand is well known for its glossy pink branding and extremely appealing advertising featuring the world’s hottest supermodels (known as “Angels”). Glamorous traditional beauty is kind of their thing. Recently, however, in an effort to conform to the perceived current climate, Victoria’s Secret participated in the cultural phenomenon that is attempting to completely revamp beauty.

Victoria’s Secret began featuring models that didn’t fit the traditional Angels aesthetic the brand is so well known for (which, obviously, is not a problem itself – just a departure from what fans have grown accustomed to) and drastically redesigned their offerings, leaving out some of their most iconic pieces. Glamorous femininity was nowhere to be found, and that which was left was something much less aspirational and noticeably more drab. What was once an instantly identifiable brand became largely unrecognizable and, quite honestly, impossible to tell from any number of other women’s lingerie/clothing brands that also dumped traditional beauty in the name of modernity. Victoria’s Secret, it appeared, was eager to fall in line.

Their sales, however, didn't get the memo. Women, as it turns out, actually liked the ultra-glamorous femininity they could adopt when using the brand’s products, a vibe that felt otherwise unattainable to most women. They wanted to partake in the aesthetically exaggerated life of a Victoria's Secret Angel for the escape from the mundane it provided. Women were buying the fantasy. And when the fantasy was gone, women stopped buying it. (Victoria’s Secret has since abandoned the rebrand and announced they are returning to good ol’ fashioned pinup energy. All peoples rejoice.)

Eye of the Beholder 

So where does this leave us as a culture? Because, on its face, I think we’re all for abandoning judgment based solely on the superficial and expanding traditional beauty norms to be more inclusive. Beauty is not one-dimensional. A more diverse view of what is beautiful is certainly welcome. At the same time, I would argue there’s no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Traditionally accepted beauty is traditionally accepted for a reason: most in a population consider it to be so. Trying to change a widely held belief is an exercise in futility, and why would we even want to try?

The act of beautifying and taking care of anything – including yourself – is what transforms life from ordinary to magnificent. 

More importantly, the truth is humans need beauty. Our souls crave it. Especially beauty that is visually experienced. Artist Theaster Gates believes that “beauty is a basic right” and “should be the starting point of everything.” In a TED Talk he gave on the subject, he said, “At every level of the human experience, we are looking for the beautiful, something that gives priority to our souls, not just our physical needs. We drink in nature, we yearn to commune with the beautiful, we crave the sublime, so that’s why the starting point for everything I do is the beautiful, not the practical.”

The act of beautifying and taking care of anything – including yourself – is what transforms life from ordinary to magnificent. From mundane to transcendent. From banal to divine. Beauty unquestionably involves the inner and the outer self. Putting on a glamorous dress and sparkly earrings for a special night out is part of what makes the night so special. Designating something as different with the extra effort it takes to make it shine is no doubt worth the effort and is always time well spent. 

Closing Thoughts

Outer beauty matters. Outer beauty matters because beauty matters. It is a basic human right. And just because we can’t all be supermodels doesn’t mean we need to change the definition of supermodel. We all have a role to play. And while that role will look different from person to person, it should always involve beauty, in all its forms – especially the one that includes hot rollers and the perfect smokey eye.

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