The Beauty in Bodies

One thing that continues to amaze me is the beauty we can acquire in other people’s eyes. Individuals live their days in routines, rare events, and frequent actions. Our bodies become familiar to us to the point that we become blind to their curves and strengths through the passage of time. What we naturally possess becomes simply another attribute of ourselves that we seem unaware of, like repressed memories or forgotten facts. In our fragmented vision, we can only see segments of our body that make up the entirety of our being, but by engaging with others, we become whole.

In our youth, we feel unfamiliar to ourselves and seek out self discovery. Each individual employs various methods to achieve this, but all lead to some degree of physical understanding. Cases of sexual abuse and assault can severely deform these perceptions and can lead individuals to seek solace through increased displays of sexuality or abstinence. No matter the reasons and modes of self detection, through interaction with the outside world, most individuals come to see the incarnation of their wants, thoughts, and desires in their bodies. This interface can be viewed as the great human mirror, a surface upon which we see ourselves through other individuals and form self understanding in contrast or complement to their views of our outward trappings.

This personification of the body is often achieved through interaction with the outside world, which serves as a forum to imitate or alter perceptions of both the inner and outer self. By engaging with the external epitome of their being, the person interacts with individuals who provide clues to their outward perception of the individual, which can become the ingrained opinion of the person being examined. However, if the individual feels the assessment of the outward self does not complement the hidden inner self, these perceptions may be received with resistance, opposition, or role confusion.

These views do not only pertain to outward appearance, but also to the relationship of bodies to inner functioning or secret longing. Appearance does not always mediate personality and sometimes individuals can be a wealth of contradictions that others cannot unravel. No matter the contradiction imbedded in the individual, it is certain that many will come back to perceptions of their bodies, desires, and perceived intent. Because, in the end, bodies are where everything starts and everything returns.

After a hard workout, I hopped in the shower and began to form my thoughts on this corporeal matter. I stood under the water and faced it as it hit me. I slowly washed and examined every curve and sinew of my body. To me, it’s simply another facet of who I’ve become and the physicality I’m able to engage in my life. The shape of my body has its splendor, but it has slowly changed in my eyes through the familiarity of my knowing glance. Under foreign vision, our bodies transform from parts to entire beings filled with grace. Quizzically, I wonder what it would be like to be viewed through the eyes of another; softly laughing to myself, I realize that I will never truly know what beauty my form contains to the unfamiliar eye.

Love and hugs,
the curious girl :)