What is Beautiful? I Think I know....

I'm not sure I understand us here in the US; I'm puzzled by our view on beauty. We do a lot of talking about what we should do to help our children, esp daughters, grow up with a healthy body image and a realistic view of beauty. We want our daughters getting fit and strong, and we want them to stop chasing the "thigh gap" ideal....but we keep showing them actresses and models who look like that. We know magazines are photoshopped, but we buy them anyway. We live every day on a visual diet of a practically impossible idea of what people really look like.....then we look in the mirror and are repulsed.

We tell young people to concentrate more on what is inside.....the heart, soul, spirit, whatever you choose to call it. WE ARE RIDICULOUS HYPOCRITES.

I'm not villainizing the thin, the flawlessly beautiful. If that is you, you are awesomely blessed. And I'm sure you find other faults with yourself. I love Emma Stone as much as the next girl.

I will tell you though; I am MUCH more interested in the actresses that are more than just a pretty face. So I'm going to list a few of my favorites that might go outside the norm:

Alex Kingston   Phylicia Rashad      Helena Bonham Carter     Helen Mirren    Gillian Anderson
Emma Thompson    Minnie Driver   Ruby Dee (RIP)  Patti LaBelle    Julianne Moore
Maggie Smith    Judi Dench     Kate Blanchett    Meryl Streep    Viola Davis    Jessica Lange

And I don't mean just women; here are some of my unusual guy crushes:
Idris Elba    Aidan Quinn    Christopher Meloni    Seth Meyers     Jimmy Fallon     Ewan MacGregor
Viggo Mortensen     Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP) Billy Joel   Bruce Willis    Mikhail Baryshnikov
Laurence Fishburne   Dennis Quaid  


So I'm going to show you just a TINY sample of the real people in my life who are absolutely beautiful in my eyes.

 
 
 
 

If you look at these pictures and wonder what I find so beautiful...then you haven't looked hard enough. Look again. Then go and throw away some magazines. :)